How will history treat those who have allowed Jameson Road landfill operations to continue?
Every TV show needs a villain.
Hello and welcome to The Blackpool Lead.
As residents of Fleetwood - and further afield - continue to report symptoms like nosebleeds, nausea and headaches, little of consequence is being done to protect them.
Operations at Jameson Road landfill continue despite the apparent unanimous view locally that it needs to stop.
A reminder that today is the deadline to report feedback to Lancashire County Council regarding odours and symptoms. You can find the surveys here.
Today we report on one campaigner who says that the entire saga has the feel of something that will end up portrayed as a documentary or drama on Netflix in the coming years. And if that happens - how would the authorities who have allowed it to continue end up being portrayed?
A separate campaign group has also analysed the air quality reports and concluded that more needs to be done to provide accurate data on how gases from the site are affecting people.
Blackpool briefing
🎨 Proposals to install a steel anti-vandal art feature directly onto the frontage of Sainsbury’s flagship Blackpool store have been thrown out by planners. The store chain said the structure, inspired by a roller coaster design, would save money on habitually having to replace smashed windows at the Talbot Road superstore. Given that the store frontage is largely made of glass, Sainsburys felt it was vital to protect it, whilst employing a design inspired by Blackpool’s leisure heritage. But the design of the scheme has not gone down well with planners at Blackpool Council, who blasted it as “significantly detrimental to the appearance, character and quality of the building”. Even worse, it would create the impression that an area of Blackpool which has undergone significant regeneration wasn’t “safe”. The application was for the installation of a public art feature to Talbot Road elevation comprising the erection of 155 steel columns at various heights in front of Perspex panels and the installation of window vinyl across five glass window panels at the store.
🚒 The owners of the fire-ravaged Warbreck House site in Bispham said discussions on its development are continuing. It comes as the local community remains in the dark about what is happening at the massive site, formerly the base for almost 3,000 civil servants employed by the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP). Owners Pipesafe, a London-based property development company, previously said its plans for the 20-plus acre site included housing, shops and a playpark. The ambitious proposals created a great deal of interest locally and it was hoped that the plans would press ahead.
💷 Security fencing measuring seven-and-half feet high is to be installed along part of the Bonny Street Market site in readiness for the market reopening. After a wait of around four years, the Market is set to begin trading again on March 27. In order to secure the site, an application was lodged with Blackpool planners for the erection of 2.4m (7.9m) high paladin security fencing along the north eastern boundary.
How will history treat those who have allowed Jameson Road landfill operations to continue?
By Luke Beardsworth
Authorities failing to take action to protect residents from the controversial Jameson Road landfill should think on how history will treat them.
That is the verdict from one campaigner who has predicted that the impact of the landfill will be subject to a ‘Toxic Town’-style serialised drama or documentary in the coming years.
Complaints regarding the Jameson Road landfill in Fleetwood have risen since the start of the year with an increase in reports of symptoms including nosebleeds and severe headaches.
Should a drama or documentary be made about the impacts on the landfill in the future, one campaigner has asked senior figures in the area if they think they would be happy with how they will be portrayed.
Jess Brown, from the Action Against Jameson Road Landfill group, told The Blackpool Lead: “I bet at some point the Jameson Road landfill will end up in a Netflix documentary or drama, with everything that has come out over the last two years and how little people feel has been done to properly protect residents. All the lies and cover ups that have been exposed.
“When that day comes, how will people at places like Wyre Council and the Environment Agency be portrayed? Do you think they will be happy with the outcome? I honestly don’t know how some of the people involved sleep at night knowing the level of distress and harm this situation has caused in the community, especially for vulnerable people and children.
“It’s disgusting that residents have been left feeling this way for so long and people need to be held to account.”
The landfill has been operated by Transwaste since it was reopened in 2023. It has been subject to thousands of complaints, multiple suspension notices, repeated calls from the area’s Labour MP Lorraine Beavers to shut it down and two campaign groups.
Wyre Council, who is the leaseholder for the site, have been collecting evidence for a potential legal challenge in the form of odour diary sheets - although the authority - has been criticised for not taking firmer action.
The same criticism has been levelled against Lancashire County Council and the Environment Agency.
This week, the Close Jameson Road landfill group has reiterated its view that residents in Fleetwood and the surrounding area have been let down by authorities who should be protecting them, with Wyre Council, Lancashire County Council, the UKHSA and the Environment Agency response all criticised.
They said that because there is just one mobile monitoring facility capturing data from the site, and that it is further away from the site than the Harbour Village residential development, the validity of health risk assessments should be called into question.
