Campaigners demand closure of Fleetwood landfill after 70 permit breaches
Stench and health concerns prompt calls to shut down site
Last updated 4th Mar 2026
Campaigners are urging the closure of the Jameson Road landfill site in Fleetwood following revelations of 70 permit breaches by operators Transwaste Ltd over less than two years.
The breaches were disclosed through a Freedom of Information (FOI) request made by the campaign group Action Against Jameson Road Landfill to the Environment Agency (EA), which has been criticised for insufficient action to protect residents from the site's foul odours and potential health risks.
Stench and health implications
Fleetwood residents and those in surrounding areas have expressed concerns about the noxious smell likened to rotten eggs—caused by chemicals including hydrogen sulfide, sulphur dioxide, and methane—released from the landfill.
Objectors argue that the odour is not only an unbearable public nuisance, forcing people to shut windows and keep children indoors on hot days, but also raises health concerns due to the chemical emissions.
Jess Brown, a member of the campaign group, criticised the lack of communication from the EA regarding these permit breaches.
“EA have known about these breaches but have said nothing to us about them – we feel we’ve been lied to and told that everything was under control when it obviously wasn’t," Brown said.
Council and Environment Agency responses
The landfill site is owned by Wyre Council, which has faced challenges from residents demanding more action. Council leader Cllr Michael Vincent noted the difficulty and lengthy process involved in issuing an abatement notice and urged residents to document the impact in detail.
Brown questioned how Transwaste was allowed to take over operations after previous operators Suez had closed the site.
Despite efforts to secure the site’s closure, the EA emphasized its regulatory response and requirement for Transwaste to comply fully with environmental permits.
“We understand how distressing the odours from the Jameson Road landfill site have been for local residents,” an EA spokesperson said.
“We are maintaining an increased regulatory response and require Transwaste to take all necessary steps to comply fully with its environmental permit.”
Residents, campaigners, and community members continue to call for a definitive solution to the ongoing issues surrounding the landfill site.
What Transwaste Say
In a statement Transwaste said: "The recorded breaches over the past reporting period must be viewed in their proper regulatory and operational context. Modern landfill regulation is highly prescriptive, technically detailed and subject to increasing national scrutiny. Transwaste is an environmentally responsible company that takes its statutory and environmental obligations extremely seriously, and the vast majority of the hundreds of thousands of regulated tasks we undertake each year are completed in full compliance with our permits.
A detailed review shows that most recorded breaches are technical or administrative in nature. They relate primarily to documentation timing, engineering specification wording, monitoring frequency, reporting formats or minor exceedances that did not result in measurable environmental harm. In many instances, several compliance scores arise from a single underlying issue that engages multiple permit conditions, which can inflate the apparent scale of non-compliance when viewed numerically.
Over the past two years there has also been increased regulatory scrutiny across the landfill sector, with greater emphasis on formal scoring and reduced reliance on informal resolution. This has led to more technical departures being formally recorded.
Importantly, the majority of breaches did not result in pollution events, systemic management failure or unsafe operational practice, and were addressed promptly and responsibly."