Gas mitigation work complete at former landfill

Work to install gas ventilation and monitoring equipment at a former landfill in Leicestershire has been completed.

The land behind Huncote Leisure Centre, which used to include a BMX track, closed in 2021 after unusually high levels of methane gas were found in the air.

Blaby District Council said the new equipment had been put in place to "ensure the long-term safety of the site".

The field has now been reopened to the public, but the former BMX track remains fenced off.

A petition to reopen the track, which hosted the British BMX Championships a few months before it was forced to close, gained more than 2,000 signatures last year.

Jan Freakley, chairman of Huncote Hornets, who trained on the track, previously said it was "devastating" the club had been unable to use it since November 2021.

The council said the land is still "an actively managed former landfill site", so visitors to the field should not have barbecues or naked flames in the area.

"Signage, warning of these hazards, is in place," a spokesperson said.

The eventual plan is for "rewilding" to take place at the site, which was agreed at a council meeting in May 2024.

Blaby District Council added that it was "committed" to responsibly managing and monitoring the site, and that its safety for future users was a key priority.

Methane persists for just a short time in the atmosphere - unlike carbon dioxide - but is a more potent global warming gas than CO2, according to a UN report.

The gas has been linked to higher risks of asthma, and is much better at trapping heat, meaning it accounts for about one-quarter of the rise in global temperature since industrialisation.

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