'Smells and dust' concern over asbestos waste site

Residents and businesses near a landfill site have claimed that dust and odours from the waste facility are making people feel unwell.

A motocross track has even had to close after riders, including children, complained of headaches and dizziness they blamed on the smell coming from the site in Finningley, near Doncaster.

Locals have also reported flies being attracted to the waste, and the Environment Agency (EA) is now investigating.

The landfill in a former quarry is operated by Tetron Finningley Ltd, which did not respond when contacted for comment by the BBC.

Tetron runs the facility under a permit from the Environment Agency. In 2022 this was amended to allow the operator to accept hazardous asbestos.

Ed Bradley, a director of Doncaster Motoparc, said the track, which has been open for 35 years, has had to shut because of a "duty of care".

"People are having symptoms like headaches, nausea and generally feeling unwell from these escalating smells. It's got so bad, we have had to make the difficult decision to protect people. We've chosen to close due to the duty of care we have to our staff."

His office manager, Karen Aitken, added that she had been reporting the issue to the EA since May.

"Your mouth goes dry and you get a film on your lips. There is no business. We've completely shut. Nobody can come to ride because the riders have not been able to breathe properly."

A local farmer said he had concerns about dust emanating from the landfill.

Robert Farmer said: "Most of the time the prevailing wind is westerly and it doesn't affect me. When it's easterly it does. They have dust monitors but I can assure you when the bulldozer is working, there's a lot of dust flying about."

When the wind blows in the other direction the smell is carried over houses in Finningley. One villager said it was "very stinky", and another added: "It makes you wonder what's in the air."

The site is also close to Doncaster Sheffield Airport, which is currently in the process of reopening to aviation.

James Andrew, a motocross rider who uses the track, also lives in Finningley.

"It's a physically demanding sport. You're sucking up every bit of air. It makes me feel sick because you're inhaling the smell," he said.

Bradley added: "We're nearly at our third week of closure. We don't have infinite resources to sustain being shut."

An Environment Agency inspector has since visited Motoparc, and a spokesperson said: "We take these concerns seriously and are actively investigating the complaints.

"We will take appropriate regulatory action if we find evidence of businesses breaking their environmental permit conditions."

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