Campaigner launches legal challenge over quarry used as industrial dumping ground

Nicholas Thomas, Local Democracy Reporter

An environmental campaigner who featured in Michael Sheen’s documentary on industrial dumping grounds has launched a legal challenge over a council’s handling of a contaminated former quarry.

Reverend Paul Cawthorne has filed a judicial review claim against Caerphilly County Borough Council over the former Ty Llwyd quarry, above Ynysddu.

Campaigners have long warned of leachate leaking into the wider environment from the fenced-off site, where chemicals including cancer-causing PCBs (polychlorinated biphenyls) were dumped in the 1960s and 1970s.

But the council, which has taken over responsibility for the site, announced in July that Ty Llwyd fell short of meeting a legal definition of ‘contaminated land’, following what it called “extensive” testing at the site.

In his legal claim, Rev Cawthorne alleges the council’s determination was not supported by adequate evidence and failed to properly apply government guidance.

“While PCBs are one of the key contaminants of concern, the assessment of the risk posed by PCBs is fundamentally flawed,” he claimed.

“There was no testing of air samples for PCBs – while the testing of soil around the site was patchy, did not test for the 12 most toxic PCBs, and set detection limits so high that the results obtained were unreliable,” said Rev Cawthorne.

“Even small amounts of PCBs can be extremely harmful to humans, their pets and the wider environment, which is why they have been banned. This is why a detailed assessment of the dangers posed by PCBs is required”.

A Caerphilly Council spokesperson said the local authority was “aware” of the application for a judicial review.

“If it proceeds, we would obviously robustly defend our position in this matter,” they added.

Judicial reviews typically examine whether public bodies followed decision-making process lawfully, rather than passing judgements on the rights or wrongs of decisions.

The recent BBC documentary ‘Buried’, presented by Welsh actor Sheen, intensified scrutiny of industrial dumping in the nation’s past and its enduring impacts on communities.

At a meeting held in the wake of the broadcast, Caerphilly councillors voted unanimously to back calls for a national inquiry into potentially contaminated sites.

Ynysddu ward councillor Janine Reed told the meeting villagers had “longstanding concerns” about Ty Llwyd and “we need contamination to be properly understood and… concerns taken seriously”.

Disappointment

However, the Welsh Government has declined to commit to a public inquiry – to the disappointment of Caerphilly councillors who backed the calls.

In a letter to the council leader, a minister noted the rules around waste disposal were “now substantially stronger than those that existed historically”, and described the issue of land contamination as a “priority”.

But Cllr Reed and ward colleague Cllr Jan Jones said the government’s response “misses the point”.

“The problem is waste dumped decades ago when the rules were weak, and communities like Ynysddu are living with the consequences, including near the Ty Llwyd site,” they added.