Wrexham Council to debate management of Hafod landfill site

Since October 2023, the landfill site in Johnstown has been subject of a number of complaints from residents due to an ongoing rotten egg smell. 

Complaints have been made to Natural Resources Wales (NRW), as well as the site operator Enovert by local councillor David A Bithell and Ken Skates MS.  

A statutory notice was issued on December 21, 2023 by NRW to Enovert, stating that conditions including leachate levels, landfill gas, and odour were being contravened.

Despite the notice being issued late last year, issues persist in Johnstown, with residents still complaining about the ongoing smell they're facing on a day to day basis.

Cllr David A Bithell

Cllr Bithell confirmed he had made a request to the housing and environment scrutiny committee to debate the management of the site, which they have agreed to. 

He added: "I am pleased the committee have agreed they would consider at a future meeting debating the landfill site.  

"Public bodies need to recognise the significant impact this has on people's daily lives.

"I have met the site CEO of Enovert and NRW several times who all say they are committed to being good neighbours and want to work together."

James McClymont, Natural Resources Wales (NRW) Team Leader Industry & Waste Regulation for North Wales, said: “NRW officers continue to ensure that Enovert North, the site operator at Hafod Landfill, meet the requirements of their Environmental Permit.

“On 21 December 2023 we issued an Environmental Permitting Regulation 36 Notice to the site operator with a number of actions required to address the odour complaints.

“The site operator has since complied with all steps of the Notice and completed several works that include temporary capping of cells and installation of pin wells to reduce the potential for fugitive gas emissions and odour.

“Although NRW are satisfied that the conditions of the notice have been met, the site operator is continuing to carry out works to enhance the utilization of landfill gas and reduce the potential for odours.

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“In May 2024, there were two distinct peaks in odour complaints in the area. NRW officers have since completed offsite monitoring in response to these incident reports and the complaints are being investigated. We are also reviewing the Operator’s management procedures and the Operator has provided us with an updated action plan. 

"We continue to encourage residents to report any odours believed to be coming from the landfill to NRW on 0300 065 3000 or via our online report it form."

Mark Silvester, CEO of Enovert, said: "NRW served an enforcement notice on Enovert back in December 2023 and, recognising NRW’s concerns, we acted to agree an action plan to their satisfaction.

"Enovert has since implemented all actions within that plan, meaning the notice has been complied with. We have continued to provide community updates, via the site’s liaison committee, which include detail of works on the action plan, as well as wider engineering and restoration works completed so far this year.

"Enovert is happy to continue to engage with Cllr Bithell on any future discussions regarding the site and our operations."