“As a mother raising children in this village I am deeply distressed”: North Derbyshire village fights persistent stench, swarms of flies and clouds of dust as towering landfill causes disruption

Residents have spoken up after issues with odour, flies and dust from Erin landfill site have become worse amid another spell of hot and dry weather.

Amy Jackson, a mum of four, from Duckmanton said: “As a mother raising children in this village, I am deeply distressed by the appalling conditions created by the landfill site on our doorstep.

"What should be a safe and nurturing environment for my family has become a daily struggle.

"The persistent stench, swarms of flies, dust, and relentless noise have turned our home into a place of discomfort rather than refuge.

“During the recent hot weather, we were unable to open our windows because the odour was so overpowering.

"My children have had to endure stifling heat indoors, unable to play outside without flies landing on their food, their faces, and their toys.

"No parent should have to watch their children suffer in conditions like these.

"The situation has deteriorated to the point where the odour is now seeping into our home even with the windows closed.

"My children ask why our house smells so bad. No mother should have to answer that question.”

Amy explained she has spent a ‘significant’ amount of money on fly traps, sticky tapes, and other measures ‘simply to keep the infestation at bay’ – but this has not been enough and flies continue to cause issues.

She added: “The flies remain everywhere, making normal family life impossible.

"The situation is not only unhygienic — it is degrading.”

For Gary Berresford, of Duckmanton, killing flies has became a part of his daily morning routine.

Gary, who lives just around 50 feet away from the landfill site boundary, said his fly traps get filled up in a matter of days and he has invested in a Bug-A-Salt – a plastic gun, which shoots salt to kill flies.

He added: “Every morning a new batch of flies manage to find their way through the gaps in the windows into the house.

"A part of my morning ritual every day is having my coffee and going around shooting flies for about 20 minutes.”

Commenting on the smell, Gary, who has lived in Duckmanton for 26 years, highlighted the smell gets ‘really bad’ on breezy days.

He added: “Today it smells particularly bad.

"It’s like when you have a cold and you put your head over a bowl of water with a tea towel over trying to clear your sinuses – the smell is so bad right now that it feels like I’m doing that over a dust bin.

"And that’s just from having the window open half way!

"When there’s no wind I don’t usually smell it, but I smell it more when I come back to the village. I went nose blind to it.”

But the bad small and swarm of flies don’t stop at Duckmanton with residents in Long Duckmanton, located over a mile away from the landfill, also affected.

Catherine McConologue, a mum of two, said: “Our cars are constantly covered in dust, the flies are horrendous, and the stench is absolutely awful.

"With the flies comes the issue of maggots and that’s really disgusting.

"Often in summer our bins become a haven for maggots.

"You have maggots in your bins and flies all over your kitchen, it’s mortifying.

"Things have gradually gotten worse and worse over the last few years with the smell and the flies, and I am worried it’s a risk to public health.

"We don't even have people over in summer unless it's family because it's embarrassing.”

Catherine, who has lived in the area for 16 years, added: “I'm not from here, and when I moved here with my husband, I wasn't familiar with the area.

"If was moving now, I wouldn't move here because of the landfill.

"With the problems getting worse in the last few years, you have to wonder what it does to property prices because this is becoming a far more widely known issue.”

Another resident, who didn’t want to be named, was forced to ‘evacuate’ from her house because she could not manage the horrendous smell.

She said: “I woke up at 2am Sunday morning to an alarm going off from the direction of the landfill.

"I started gagging from the smell. I shut all the windows in the house even though it was hot, put the air purifier on, and the fan.

"I was poorly all day Sunday. Monday morning I was violently stomach-wrenching from the smell, and I phoned my dad to come collect me.

"When he arrived, he said if he knew the smell was this bad, he would have put his foot down to collect me sooner.

“I have not returned since, but my partner, who it doesn't usually affect, has said it's even worse and has now also evacuated.

"I feel for those, who have nowhere to escape either.

"The electricity bill is high, running fans, purifiers and air freshener... still doesn't get rid of the stench.”

While recent hot weather has proved more difficult for residents, issues with horrible odour and swarms of flies are nothing new.

Erin landfill site opened in 1999 at the former colliery site – and has caused problems over the last 27 years.

It was initially operated by Viridor before being taken over by Valencia, which currently operates the site.

The site was set to close in 2021 – but received permission to remain open until 2036.

In recent days, Valencia received approval to start operations in a newly engineered landfill cell.

Over the last three decades, residents have faced a number of similar issues, which improved for short periods following complaints – but always returned.

Gary pointed out that over the years the tip got higher and higher is now towering over Duckmanton.

He said: "Back at the time of the flood and mouth epidemic in 2001 they were filling in a deep hole in the part of the site near my house.

"The hole has been filled and they're more moved across the site.

"Now instead of filling a hole they are just adding to a hillside.

"I don't see how they can safely contain the waste and smell now.

“I think it's already on the limit.

"If they go much higher now than what they're doing, the first serious rain we get, all that is going to flood over onto the surrounding countryside.”

Amy added: “For years, residents have raised concerns about overwhelming odours, rising vermin, and visible pollution affecting our local environment.

"What was once a peaceful rural community has been overshadowed by a site that is entirely inappropriate for a location so close to homes, schools, and public spaces.

"We are calling for immediate and decisive action from the relevant authorities.

"It is unacceptable that children are being raised in conditions that pose risks to their physical and emotional health.

"We urge those responsible to address these failings without delay and to work with residents to establish a long‑term, sustainable solution that restores safety, respect, and quality of life to our village.”

Cllr Mick Bagshaw, Staveley Town Council member for Duckmanton Ward, has received a number of complaints in recent days.

Cllr Bagshaw, who has campaigned on issues caused by the Erin landfill site for almost three decades, said: “Residents in Duckmanton and Poolsbrook deserve to enjoy their homes, gardens, and sunshine.

"Families are unable to eat because the stench makes them ill.

"The shouldn’t have to put up with smells, continuous purchases of expensive fly traps and sprays and having to throw away meals because flies land on them,

"Something positive needs to be done, including planners taking into consideration our residents in Staveley, who have had landfill sites for over 60 years.

"I think it's about time other parts of Derbyshire have a turn."

Chesterfield MP Toby Perkins has also received a number of reports from Duckmanton residents complaining about the landfill site in recent days.

He said: “I have heard from many local Duckmanton residents that during the current hot spell, the odours emitted from Erin Landfill have become unbearable, with residents saying they cannot open their windows in this extreme heat and have even been physically sick from the smell.

“These reports are totally unacceptable, people should not have to live like this and if the landfill operators cannot address this smell, the regulator must step in and take action.

“In the extreme heat being unable to open your windows is unthinkable, and so the operator must take this situation seriously, if it wants to maintain a licence to operate.”

Mr Perkins confirmed that Environment Agency had visited the site and instructed the landfill operator to take measures to migrate the odour and cover any exposed waste following recent complaints.

He added: “Erin Landfill is an important facility that services communities for miles around, but people in Duckmanton and Poolsbrook are paying an unacceptable price for having this facility in their community and it must stop.

"I encourage all residents to continue to make reports to the Environment Agency and to copy me in if the odours do not improve.

“I will be seeking an urgent update from them about the steps being taken and how the success of those steps will be monitored.”

Cllr Mick Bagshaw and MP Toby Perkins are set to meet with representatives of the landfill and the Erin Stakeholder Liaison Forum on Thursday, July 16, to discuss the issues.

The Derbyshire Times contacted Valencia to raise residents’ concerns with Erin Landfill Site operator.

A spokesperson for Valencia said: “We continue to operate the landfill site in accordance with our environmental permit and planning conditions, this includes ensuring that any dust and odour is controlled within the site.

"During the recent heatwave we have increased our dust suppression efforts and will continue to monitor its effectiveness on a daily basis.

"The Environment Agency regularly visit the site on to inspect for evidence of flies and have not found an issue in recent weeks.

"We have also increased our daily cover activity to further ensure that ageing waste is not able to cause unpleasant odour issues for residents.

“We would like to apologise for any inconvenience that the landfill odour has caused. In recent days, Valencia has received approval to start operations in a newly engineered landfill cell.

"As part of this, stockpiled waste is being exposed before being tipped into the new cell. The team onsite have responded to the increase in odour by closing the site to waste deliveries, and increasing soil capping to reduce odours.

"We anticipated that all waste will have been tipped, and covered in the coming days, with landfill gas infrastructure then extracting the gas.

"The Environment Agency are aware of the actions we have taken.”