The case to close Jameson Road landfill has never been stronger

National attention for an issue deeply affecting the lives of people in Fleetwood

Hello and welcome to The Blackpool Lead.

Next week will mark exactly a year since we first started reporting on the Jameson Road landfill.

In April 2025, we joined over 100 residents in at Fleetwood Town Football Club as they set out the symptoms that had resulted in over 3,000 complaints being made to the Environment Agency in that March alone. A year on, little has changed, but the smells and gases from the site have gotten worse, residents say.

It was a surprise to be the only written journalist present in that room 12 months so it was heartening that, on Friday, protesters were joined by the Lancashire Telegraph, the Daily Mail, GB News and BBC Lancashire with BBC North West tonight also covering the issue the night before. Sincere apologies to anyone who I missed.

All of which is a reflection not just on the level of upset this landfill has caused to a community, but also to the diligent campaign work that has been carried out.

We were there on Friday and what follows is our full report.

Blackpool briefing

🚧 A leading Blackpool councillor says residents in the town’s Revoe area are being frightened by misinformation over plans to demolish homes. Cllr Neal Brookes, deputy leader at Blackpool Council, says that although the council is looking to press ahead with the controversial proposals, he believes a combination of confusion and scaremongering has panicked residents. Cllr Brookes says that despite residents complaining of a lack of council dialogue, the authority is desperate to talk those affected by the plans and give them the correct information The council is looking to knock down around 320 residences on several streets off Central Drive, within a designated ‘red line’ area – and replace them with modern housing. But the proposals have left many residents furious and worried about where they will go. They say they are being forced out of their homes and feelings are running so high that on Tuesday night a number of protesters disrupted a planning meeting at Blackpool Town Hall and forced it to be held in anther room.

🍎 Work is now under way for a new Tesco store in the heart of Blackpool town centre. The former Miss Selfridge/Topman/Topshop unit at 18-22 Victoria Street, opposite from the Hounds Hill shopping centre, is now boarded up as extensive work is carried out inside. A public notice advertised that Tesco Stores was applying to Blackpool Council for a premises license to allow the sale of alcohol to be served off the premises from Monday to Sunday, between the hours of 6 am to midnight. In addition, an application has been submitted for the “Display of 1 internally illuminated fascia signs , 4 non illuminated fascia signs and 1 internally illuminated, double sided projecting sign” at the site. The planning documents state that the site is earmarked for a Tesco Express, with the signs all consisting of the chain’s name and branding. Tesco first expressed its intent to open a store at 18-22 Victoria Street back in February 2023.

🏠 Councillors have approved a new visitor attraction for Blackpool – the Upside Down House . The attraction is a two-storey structure which is designed to appear to be upside down on its roof with a slight angle, creating novel scenarios with selfie opportunities inside, such as a bed appearing to be on the ceiling. The Upside Down House is proving a success across the UK and Europe but has never opened in Blackpool before. Now it has been permitted to set up on the site previously occupied by the Theatre D’amour, just to the north of South Pier, following the demolition of the puppet theatre in December.

The case to close Jameson Road landfill has never been stronger

By Luke Beardsworth

Friday’s protest in Fleetwood. Credit: The Blackpool Lead

The people of Fleetwood reiterated their desire to see the immediate closure of the Jameson Road landfill at a protest on Friday (27 March).

A slow-walk was held from the Fleetwood Road entrance to Jameson Road to the site itself with traffic slowed and the entrance to the landfill blocked as protestors turned to more direct action as thousands of reports continue to lead to minimal change.

March 2026 has already been a record month for complaints made to the Environment Agency against the Jameson Road landfill with 3,972 up until the morning of 25 March. This passes the previous record of 3,221 complaints made in March 2025.

The strength of opposition to the landfill, operated by a company called Transwaste, means that their campaigns have now drawn national attention. Journalists or photographers from BBC News, GB News and the Lancashire Telegraph were all present, while Reform UK’s Blackpool and Fleetwood chairman Mark Butcher has also recently joined the campaign. One protester is wearing a Donald Trump mask - another a Restore Britain shirt.

Lorraine Beavers, who is Labour’s MP for Blackpool North and Fleetwood, has been with the campaign for over a year. The landfill reopened quietly in late 2023 with the first spike in complaints coming in March 2024 before dropping off until early 2025, by which point the 2024 general election had taken place. Before being an MP, Beavers was a Lancashire County Councillor for Fleetwood East and Wyre Borough Councillor for Park ward.

She told The Blackpool Lead: “We’ve had enough. It’s been over two years and it’s continuous. There’s a pattern where the Environment Agency comes in, they make them cap something and then they open another cell and we’re back to where we are.

Campaigner Jess Brown with Lorraine Beavers MP. Credit: The Blackpool Lead

“This weekend has been absolutely horrendous. The smell was in everybody’s homes and as far as Bispham. We are fighting for the right to breathe clean air.