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Campaigners criticised Welsh ministers for rejecting calls to revoke a permit for a landfill site despite concerns about the “unbearable” stench plaguing people’s lives.

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.

‘Fear-mongering’

Mr Gittens 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 Gittens 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.

“This is a staggering position that sets a dangerous precedent, one where a permitted operator may breach environmental standards with impunity because enforcement might be ‘too risky’.

“If NRW cannot enforce closure obligations, that is an indictment of the regulator – not a justification for continued harm.”

‘Best placed’

Writing to the committee, deputy first minister Huw Irranca-Davies cautioned that revoking the permit could result in the site deteriorating.

Mr Irranca-Davies told the committee: “The purpose of this direction-making power is to direct specific action to be taken where it is appropriate in the circumstances for the decision to be taken by Welsh ministers rather than by NRW.

“As the issues at Hafod landfill site are regulatory/operational decisions, I am confident that NRW as the regulator is best placed to determine the appropriate regulatory action and I therefore do not feel it is necessary to direct NRW to revoke the permit.”

The climate secretary, who met NRW and site operator Enovert last month, added: “NRW has a duty to regulate sites in accordance with the law.

“If they believe a site is not able to come back into compliance and poses a significant risk to the environment and people’s health, the appropriate enforcement action will be taken.”

‘Tired script’

Mr Gittens, from the Against Hafod Landfill Site campaign group, was dissatisfied with the Welsh Government’s response, accusing ministers of complicity through inaction.

He said: “The suggestion that NRW is ‘working with the operator to bring the site into compliance’ is a tired script we’ve heard for over a decade. And the outcome? Continued odour nuisance, health concerns and a landfill operating long beyond its anticipated closure.”

The campaigner told Senedd Members: “If a builder ignores safety standards and your roof is on fire, you don’t just schedule another meeting or create another committee – you shut the site down and fix the problem.”

Mr Gittens suggested NRW was being treated as an “untouchable entity” by ministers.

“The situation at Hafod is no longer a routine regulatory matter,” he said. “It is a public health, environmental and accountability crisis – one that warrants ministerial intervention.”

‘Political gaslighting’

Pledging to continue the decades-long fight, he wrote: “The people of Johnstown and surrounding areas deserve clean air, not political gaslighting.

“The narrative that revocation could ‘make things worse’ is not just wrong – it’s a disservice to environmental law, public health and common sense.”

Mr Gittens submitted a freedom of information request which revealed more than 81,000 tonnes of waste from Merseyside has been taken to the tip over the past five years.

He said: “Our community is being used as a dumping ground by Merseyside Council, a council that only recycles 17% of its own waste. This must end now, enough is enough.”

During a committee meeting on April 28, Senedd Members agreed to keep the petition open pending further discussions on the best way to take the matter forward.