A BLACKBURN landfill company is monitoring a site in order to reduce the impact on residents in Chorley.

The Environment Agency issued a statement about Quercia Ltd and how they had completed works on the Clayton Hall landfill site. On Monday landfill gas specialists went on site to assess the works and make sure they had complied with enforcement notices.

Cllr Mark Clifford who is the chair of the Clayton Hall landfill site committee said: “Quercia and their contractors continue to monitor the temporary cap and make sure the seal is gas tight.

“On Saturday night an area was found to have gas escaping and this was brought under control on Sunday.

“?Over the coming days and weeks residents should find a substantial reduction in odours emitted from the site.

“Many residents have expressed concerns that with Spring arriving they won’t be able ?to enjoy sitting outdoors.

“This is completely unacceptable.

“Hopefully we are now seeing the beginning of an end to this mess.or six months residents having been living with this awful stench and it is made their life thoroughly miserable.

“The pressure brought upon Quercia to fix the problems has now started to bear fruit and hopefully our neighbourhoods will soon be stink-free again.”

Chorley MP, Rt Hon Lindsay Hoyle insists time will tell whether the work has dealt with the problem.

He said: “If it does not work and smells keeping coming out then there has to be an investigation around the site that smells aren’t coming from other areas.

“Also I am calling the Public Health England to see if this will have a detrimental affect on people’s health.

“It is very important if there are going to be long-term sickness in the area and see if we can isolate the smells and it.

“If the smells continue then I will be calling on the Environment Agency to take control of the site.”

A spokesman for Quercia said: “Quercia is pleased to be able to confirm that the on-site engineering work required to comply with the Environment Agency’s (EA) Section 37 Notice has now been completed.

“The works involved the installation of a temporary plastic cap, which will seal an area of approximately 8600sqm. A network of additional landfill gas collection lines has also been installed under the cap to capture the surface emissions that were giving rise to odour.

“Whilst the reduction in the odour will not be immediate we do expect to see significant improvement in the coming days and we will continue to check the seal to ensure is no unexpected leakage. A full review of the site is ongoing in order to identify any other areas that may require attention.

“Once the EA has confirmed that Quercia has complied with the Notice and the significant pollution has abated the company will agree a point at which it can once again start to accept material onto site. Quercia will communicate this date via the Liaison Group, its website and existing communications channels.

“The company would like to apologise once again for the odour.”