Inspections are continuing at the site of a “large” fire in waste at a former brickworks site in County Durham materials recycling facility.
The fire broke out at the facility at Old Eldon Brickworks in Bishop Auckland on 31 August, where crews have since remained present (see letsrecycle story)
A planning application has been submitted to the local authority for the area which said the old Brickworks was to be converted into a materials recycling facility.
A spokesperson for County Durham and Darlington Fire and Rescue Service told letsrecycle today (8 September): “We will continue with our inspections of the site in the coming days, working alongside Durham County Council and the Environment Agency to minimise the risk to the public and the local environment. At present the cause of the fire is unknown.”
Crews and senior officers remain at the scene of the fire in Eldon. Residents in Bishop Auckland, Eldon, Eldon Lane, Coronation & South Church areas should keep their doors & windows closed due to large amounts of smoke & possible hazardous materials being involved. pic.twitter.com/NYyBjEN0pk
— County Durham & Darlington Fire & Rescue Service (@CDDFRS) August 31, 2020
‘Extremely large’
The fire broke out at 5am on Monday 31 August where it was reported that approximately 4,000 tonnes of waste was on fire.
On 1 September, the fire service said it was extinguishing smaller piles of waste at a time, due to the “extremely large amount of waste involved”.
It was also reported that crews were expected to remain at the site for “a considerable amount of time”. The fire service advised local residents to keep doors and windows closed.
Enforcement notice
Durham county council has since confirmed to letsrecycle.com that notices were issued to the site for the “unauthorised use of the land for storage and importing of waste”, a few weeks prior to the fire.
An enforcement notice was issued at the site on 3 August, following concerns from residents which included odour emanating from the site.
Stuart Timmiss, head of housing and development at Durham county council, said: “We can confirm that we were contacted by residents with concerns in relation to the site, including odours. In response we carried out a joint investigation with the Environment Agency, County Durham and Darlington Fire and Rescue Service and Durham Constabulary, as a result of which a series of notices were served in relation to the unauthorised use of the land for storage and importing of waste.”
The MRF site is currently run by waste management company Falcons Management Ltd, which has operated the site since 2019. A statement from the company has been requested by letsrecycle.com. On its website, the company explains: “Currently Falcons have purchased a large multipurpose site, Eldon Resource Recovery Centre, County Durham, with the intention to extract remaining minerals, restoring the site and bringing back into use the material recycling operations.”
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Source: letsrecycle.com Waste Managment
