New investigation on Arpley site (From Warrington Guardian)

David Mowat MP for Warrington South holds Arpley debate

9:50am Monday 14th May 2012 in News

A FULL investigation of health concerns at Arpley tip will be carried out according to the Government.

Warrington South MP David Mowat held a debate in Parliament on Thursday on the landfill site.

An application to extend the tip has been handed in to the borough council and is likely to be debated soon.

Replying to a debate on the site, forced by Mr Mowat, minister of state for environment, food and rural affairs, Jim Paice MP assured residents that the EA would check that any new work on the Sankey Bridges site would not result in previously deposited waste posing an unacceptable risk to health.

Up to 400 carcasses of cattle either infected or believed to have been infected with BSE, or mad cow’s disease, were dumped at Arpley.

A number of similar carcasses were also illegally dumped on the site around the same time, according to Mr Mowat.

Mr Mowat said: “I forced this debate because I felt that the issues surrounding Arpley needed to be heard at the very highest level.

“Residents and I have some serious environmental concerns about the site – particularly if parts of it are to be disturbed by future works.

“Although I recognise that the decision to extend or not is a matter for Warrington Borough Council, residents have a right to know that their concerns are being dealt with seriously by the relevant authorities.

“I’m happy with the assurances that I have received and I hope that this will feed into the decision making progress.”