Sponsored by
Landfill bosses accused of destroying protected bird's habitat
By Tony Gardner THE operators of one of Europe's biggest landfill sites have been accused of destroying the habitat of a protected species of bird.
Environmental protesters claim a breeding ground for sand martins has been wrecked after contractors have dug a huge ditch around the perimeter of the West Yorkshire tip as a security measure.
Waste Recycling Group (WRG), who operate the Welbeck site, near Wakefield, are under pressure from the Environment Agency to improve security at the site after being found to be in breach of its permit to run the site.
But members of Residents Against Toxic Scheme (Rats) have accused the operators of panic measures and riding roughshod over local wildlife.
Rats president Paul Dainton said: "Once again those in charge of running the tip have shown a complete disregard for the surrounding environment.
"Not only is this ditch an absolute eyesore but it can only have done damage to the bird population."
Last month the Environment Agency contacted Rats confirming that WRG were in breach of it permit due to poor security.
Colin Fletcher, regional operations manager for WRG said: "Site security is an issue which is taken very seriously by WRG which is why we have taken these measures. We are also keen to minimise the impact of our activities, so we commissioned an ecological survey to investigate the potential impacts of the work. This survey confirmed that the excavation of the trench would not cause any harm to the local wildlife."
Email to a friend
Print this page
Looking for...
Featured advertisers
Jobs
Search for a job
Motors
Search for a car
Property
Search for a house
Weather for Leeds
Friday 25 May 2012
Today
Sunny
Temperature: 10 C to 23 C
Wind Speed: 20 mph
Wind direction: East
Tomorrow
Sunny
Temperature: 8 C to 20 C
Wind Speed: 16 mph
Wind direction: East
