FURY AS MINISTERS REFUSE TO ACT OVER 'UNBEARABLE STENCH'

CAMPAIGNERS have criticised Welsh ministers for rejecting calls to revoke a permit for a landfill site despite concerns about the "unbearable" stench plaguing people's lives.

- By CHRIS HAINES

More than 1,100 people signed a Senedd petition which warned of an overpowering smell from the landfill site at the former Hafod quarry in Johnstown, Wrexham.

Steve Gittins, who submitted the petition, said local people have suffered persistent and worsening nuisance from the tip over the past 19 years. In a letter to the Senedd's petitions committee, he wrote: "At the heart of this issue is a failure of systems designed to protect communities like Johnstown."

But, in response to the petition, the Welsh Government suggested it would be inappropriate to use its powers to direct the regulator, Natural Resources Wales (NRW), to intervene. Mr Gittins wrote: "It is deeply disappointing to see yet another well-rehearsed shrug of responsibility wrapped in bureaucratic jargon, where real leadership and environmental justice are sorely needed."

Accusing ministers of "fear-mongering dressed up as pragmatism", he rejected "misplaced" claims that revoking the permit could see the site abandoned. Mr Gittins said: "To suggest that closing the site might cause greater harm implies that residents must accept ongoing exposure to foul odours and associated health risks simply to avoid enforcing the law.