Closed landfill owner 'still owes council £132k'

The owner of a closed landfill still owes £132,000 to a council, more than a year after the company collapsed, the authority said.

Walleys Quarry Ltd (WQL) went into liquidation in February 2025, three months after the Environment Agency (EA) issued a closure notice to the controversial Walleys Quarry in Silverdale, Staffordshire.

That move followed years of complaints from residents concerned about foul smells from from the site, with some claiming the fumes were affecting their health.

Among the more than £3m of debts the company had when it entered liquidation, Newcastle-under-Lyme Borough Council was owed £132,097, which was yet to be paid, councillors heard.

The total included £102,000 in legal fees, agreed through a mediated settlement relating to an abatement notice, along with unpaid business rates.

According to a council report, the authority was in touch with the liquidators "in order to recover these outstanding monies".

At Monday's health, wellbeing and environment scrutiny committee meeting, councillor Joan Whieldon raised concerns the debt could "fall between the cracks" If not pursued.

Nesta Barker, the authority's service director for regulatory services, told the meeting there were no other options for recovering the money available to the council.

She said the authority was one of many creditors owed money and they were working with the liquidation process.

"There's a list and a hierarchy in relation to those creditors," she said. "My understanding is that we are engaged in that process as far as we can be."

When WQL collapsed, joint-liquidators Mike Denny and Jonny Marston said they had disclaimed any interest held by the company and all nine employees were made redundant.

They confirmed at the time that they were supporting the former workers, while working with the EA and other parties to "support an orderly transition of the site".

The EA issued the closure notice on 28 November 2024, saying all other options to tackle the pollution issues had been exhausted.

The agency also accused the WQL of poor management of the site, which the company rejected at the time.

This news was gathered by the Local Democracy Reporting Service which covers councils and other public service organisations.

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