Ashton, Droylsden and Failsworth MP, Angela Rayner, has turned up the heat on the Environment Agency and Government Ministers and demanded that finance for the removal of the illegally dumped waste in Droylsden is released immediately.

Legal notices ordering the owners and occupiers of Gartside Farm in Droylsden to cease dumping waste at the site expired at 6pm on Tuesday 1^st May. The farm has been the location of an unlicensed, illegal landfill site which has been in operation since October 2017. The site has caused strong, unpleasant odours almost continuously in the area of Droylsden immediately around it and complaints have also been received from residents of Ashton and Failsworth across the valley depending on the direction of the wind. Progress on eradicating the smell and getting the waste removed from the site has been slow due to the legal processes which must be followed.

Angela Rayner MP has been working on the matter since she and Local Councillors fielded complaints from residents in the latter half of 2017. There has been some success in lobbying the Environment Agency to devise a clean-up plan and Ministers in Government have been receptive to requests from help. However, until money can be found to fund the removal of the waste, it is difficult to say when the clear up will begin.

Angela said, “The length of time this entire process has taken has been frustrating. I completely understand why local people are so furious. I have visited the site this week and the odour was disgusting and I was only there for about an hour. Living in those conditions 24/7 must be close to unbearable.”

On Tuesday Angela wrote to Ministers in the Treasury, Home Office and Department for food and rural affairs demanding that funding be released to cover the cost of removal so that it can begin immediately. Angela extended the offer of an invitation to Ministers to visit the site too so that they can fully appreciate the extent of the problem. She was also interviewed on site by BBC Radio Manchester and later by North West Tonight, turning up the pressure on those who can take action to move quickly.

Angela’s office is continuing to log and collate the correspondence received on the matter so that the strength of feeling of local people can be demonstrated to the Government and Environment Agency.