Support quality, independent, local journalism…that matters

From just £1 a month you can help fund our work – and use our website without adverts. Become a member today

Regulators have been accused of presenting “flawed and misleading” evidence to a Senedd inquiry into a stench from a tip which has plagued people’s lives for nearly 20 years.

Steve Gittins, a campaigner from Johnstown, Wrexham, submitted a petition calling for the revocation of Enovert’s environmental permit for the landfill site at the old Hafod quarry.

Giving evidence to the Senedd’s petitions committee today (November 10), Mr Gittins said people would accept nothing less than the site being closed after 20 years of “inaction”.

Criticising “flawed and misleading” evidence submitted to the inquiry by Natural Resources Wales (NRW), he suggested graphs and figures were manipulated to downplay problems.

“I think there’s a lot of smoke and mirrors going on here,” he said.

He warned an 18-year history of “noxious odours” and “unacceptable statutory nuisance” has got incrementally worse over the years. He told Senedd Members the problem has not improved since NRW issued an enforcement notice in 2023.

‘Complaints fatigue’

Asked about claims the number of complaints has reduced significantly, Mr Gittins pinned the fall on “complaints fatigue” – with people burned out from reporting problems for years.

He said: “It’s well-documented, especially with nuisance issues, where complaints fatigue happens. I mean we’ve been complaining for two decades, remember, and the thing has never got any better… there’s been inaction all along.”

Mr Gittins criticised NRW’s “rather apathetic” response, which advised him to report up to ten incidents a day, adding: “What a burden that is… we’ve got better things to do.”

He told the committee: “Interestingly, all the witnesses… who have said ‘there’s nothing to see here’ – none of them live in Johnstown, none of them… We put up with this daily and all we get is ‘there’s nothing to see here’ – and that’s wrong.”

NRW has stated odour reports have shown a decreasing trend as of May 2025, and a permit can only be revoked if there is a “serious risk” and all other measures have been exhausted.

Wrexham Council concluded “no statutory nuisance exists” after a summer assessment while Huw Irranca-Davies – Wales’ Deputy First Minister – has resisted calls to intervene.

‘My grandkids will suffer’

But Mr Gittins raised concerns about the robustness of monitoring arrangements, suggesting Enovert was “marking its own homework” as he called for an independent review.

“Even… with their own figures, they’re not compliant… there’s no hiding from it,” he said.

Mr Gittins added: “I’m getting increasing problems getting an answer from anybody. One member of Wrexham Council has written to me to say he refuses to communicate with me any more and advised me to go to the public ombudsman which I’ve done.”

He told the committee: “On behalf of local residents, I know the strength of feeling, they won’t accept anything other than the site being closed because they cannot manage it.

“It hasn’t been managed efficiently for 20 years… and 20 years is enough. We’ve got another 35 years’ licence on that landfill site. My children, my grandchildren are all going to suffer from this place. I just don’t understand why we should put up with that.

“It’s not even our rubbish.”

‘Extremely poor’

In 2024, 54% of the waste came from England – primarily Merseyside and Cheshire – and 46% from Wales, of which 25% was from Wrexham.

Asked about the effectiveness of community engagement, Mr Gittins said: “If you spoke to the vast majority of our community, I don’t think I could repeat the answer.”

He dismissed claims of an “open forum” at a liaison group which he was not allowed to join.  “All it is is a promise of jam tomorrow…,” he told the committee. “In terms of the transparency and engagement, I feel it is extremely poor.”

Dorothy Tunnah, a member of the Hafod liaison group who lives nearby, criticised Enovert executives who suggested the rain makes no difference to the level of odour.

“Absolutely untrue, just ask anyone who lives in Johnstown,” she wrote in evidence.

She pleaded with the petitions committee: “Enovert has had enough time to get it right and we hope you agree that Hafod landfill should be closed down. Please do not let us down as former members of the Senedd have over the past 18 years.”