MP Aidan Burley calls for Heath Hayes waste plant to be closed
An MP today said 'enough is enough' and called on the Environment Agency to close down a controversial waste plant at the centre of a long-running row.
Cannock Chase MP Aidan Burley has written to officers urging them to revoke Biffa's licence to run the anaerobic digestion plant in Heath Hayes.
The £24 million Poplars Landfill site in Lichfield Road has been plagued by complaints about foul smells since it began operating in 2011, with more than 80 families pursuing legal action against the waste company.
Mr Burley had previously asked the plant's owners to voluntarily suspend operations while they addressed the problem, which they declined to do.
Today Mr Burley said the firm's owners had been given 'every last chance' and that now their 'time is up'.
He said: "It is not acceptable for my constituents to continue to suffer from these foul odours, and enough is enough. In June, Biffa was told by the Environment Agency that they were 'drinking in the last chance saloon'. Today I am calling for closing time on their operations."
Bosses have spent more than £800,000 making improvements to the plant, which recycles food waste, in an effort to stop odours affecting the nearby Newlands Park Estate – but residents say the problem remains.
The Environment Agency had previously said it would review the situation once Biffa had fitted another odour control filter in July.
Mr Burley said he had been advised to wait until now to call for the closure because the plant's owners would have been likely to win any legal case brought against them.
Biffa was not available for comment today.
