Plans for further landfill sites in the Bradford district should be scrapped after the "mismanagement" of a Cullingworth tip, a leading MP said today.
Shipley MP Chris Leslie called on Bradford Council and the Environment Agency to explain what he branded a "sorry catalogue of woes" at the Manywells site in Cullingworth.
And Mr Leslie said an independent survey should be carried out on the site to ensure it is carrying no health risk to people living nearby.
The Manywells tip has been redundant since its former operator Wastepoint went into liquidation last month, but the row over who is responsible for cleaning it up is set to be decided in the High Court.
Mr Leslie, who has written letters to Environment Agency chairman Sir John Harman and Bradford Council chief executive Ian Stewart about the tip, said he was "astonished" by the row.
And he said the problems reinforced his opposition to plans for another landfill site at Buck Park Quarry in Denholme.
Campaigning residents in Denholme have vowed to fight the application for the tip - despite having their appeal turned down by the High Court last month.
"I find the whole situation a very sad and sorry tale, and I am pushing very strongly to get clarification about who is responsible for what's been going on," Mr Leslie said today.
"No further licences of this type should be granted. The Council and Environment Agency shouldn't dig deeper holes for themselves until they know how to manage these situations."
The row over who is responsible for the clean-up escalated last week when the Environment Agency said it could not access a special bond worth £375,000 which was set up when the licence was granted.
"If, at the time, planning permission was granted, those bond arrangements were deemed sufficient then I would have thought liability would fall on the Council, the Environment Agency, or both," said Mr Leslie.
Mr Leslie's call for no further licences to be issued was backed by Dominic Clark, chairman of the Denholme Residents' Action Group (DRAG) who is opposed to the Buck Park Quarry.
"We cannot have any confidence in the Council and Environment Agency," he said. "We were assured time and again that the tip will be properly managed but we clearly cannot trust them. The Manywells episode has been an absolute shambles."
And Cullingworth campaigner Dianne Marshall, who claims the Environment Agency have persistently failed to regulate the landfill site, said she was "delighted" by Mr Leslie's support.
The Council has assured residents it will do "all it can" to ensure the Cullingworth tip is cleaned-up, and said negotiations into its future were ongoing.
Nobody at the Environment Agency was available to comment.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereComments are closed on this article