See it for yourself

Members of Birks Quarry Action Group meet UU officials at the quarry entrance.

AN Oldham MP has appealed to the chairman of the Environment Agency to make a personal visit to a proposed controversial landfill site.

Phil Woolas, MP for Oldham East and Saddleworth, warns of a potential “catastrophe” for householders living near Birks Quarry on the Lees-Austerlands border.

Residents, backed by councillors, have already formed an action group and lodged appeals against a proposed tipping permit which would allow 540,000 tonnes of inert waste to be dumped at the site off the A62 Huddersfield Road.

In the letter to Lord Smith of Finsbury, the EA’s chairman, Mr Woolas says: “ I have very serious concerns about the proposal.

“Following four public inquiries and a judicial review, planning permission was granted in 1994 but has never proceeded.

“The general view of the local authority’s senior planners is this decision is seriously flawed and both OMBC and Greater Manchester Police have written to the EA stating there is an unacceptable risk to road safety on the busy A62 if the permit is granted.

“This quarry is a hillside and there is one entrance which is approximately 100 ft below the floor of the quarry. The tip material would be at least another 100ft deep.

“I am extremely concerned, whatever barrier is constructed, that given four to six weeks of heavy autumnal rain, there could be a catastrophic slip of mud and debris on to the A62 and local properties.

He adds: “The EA are constrained by the planning consent and cannot consider the road safety issues of entering the site.”

Meanwhile, the Birks Quarry Action Group is investigating making a film to demonstrate safety problems on the road.

One of the committee, Karen Donald, herself a former police officer, is appealing for a driver and HGV to volunteer to carry out the test.

The group has also distributed a letter to residents about the use of two footpaths at the site and they met officers of United Utilities at the site to discuss issues surrounding surface water removal.

They are considering a submission to the Government under the new Sustainable Communities Act, which gives residents and local authorities the opportunity to improve the environmental well-being in the area.