'As quickly as possible': Minister's pledge on clearing illegal dump by Bradford City ground

Clearing Bradford's Midland Road illegal dump to happen 'as quickly as possible', says Angela Eagle

Clearing a huge illegal waste site in Bradford will be done “as quickly as possible”, Environment Secretary Angela Eagle has said.

She visited the Midland Road site alongside Prime Minister Andy Burnham and local MP Naz Shah after it was announced as one of the three national locations which have been identified for clearance, subject to feasibility assessments.

Environment Agency officials showed them the piles of rubbish and old shipping containers which have been dumped right next to Bradford City’s Valley Parade football ground.

When asked by The Yorkshire Post when residents can expect work both to start and when it will be completed by, Dame Angela said: “We have to assess what is there and that is work under way.

Prime Minister Andy Burnham views an illegal rubbish dump beside Bradford City’s Valley Parade stadium in Bradford, West Yorkshire, to announce a new crackdown on illegal waste dumping and action to clear up communities as part of his pledge to bring back hope across the country and tackle long-ignored issues. Picture: Scott Heppell/PA Wire

"We’ve managed to stop it getting any bigger by taking enforcement action and it takes a little bit of a while to assess what rubbish is there so it can be safely removed.

"But we will be getting on with it as quickly as possible. Obviously the amount of time it takes depends on what we find.”

With thousands of similar sites across the country, Dame Angela, who is to chair a new national Waste Crime Crackdown Group, said prioritising what gets cleared first is a nuanced decision.

"We have to make assessments of how dangerous, how close to communities and what kind of toxic waste is there so we can have a prioritisation for clean-up.”

Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Angela Eagle, left, Labour MP for Bradford West Naz Shah and Environment agency staff show Britain's Prime Minister Andy Burnham, an illegal rubbish dump near the Bradford City football ground (Scott Heppell, WPA Pool/Getty Images)

She said the Government is “already getting results” on clearing such sites, with a clean-up operation on a 21,000 tonne dump in Oxfordshire almost complete having started earlier this year.

But following previous criticism by Parliament and House of Lords committee about the failures of authorities over the issue, Dame Angela said a change of approach is required.

"This entire issue has been allowed to fester for many years with a lack of proper enforcement. We’re doing much more work to make sure people who run waste sites are properly registered to do so, so that we can prevent serious and organised crime encroachment into this area, which has been going on for years.”

MP Naz Shah said she was “really grateful” that the Midland Road site has been selected as a priority for clearance following past battles to get other similar dumps dealt with.

"I’ve been an MP for 11 years and I can honestly say to you I’ve never felt this much hope because I spent nine years in opposition fighting for funding and then it has not had that prioritisation.

"It is not just an illegal dump – it is organised crime, it is taking money from the community, it is a policing issue, it is an environmental issue, it is a confidence in the community issue.

"There’s so much to it and I’m really grateful this has happened.”