IN PICTURES: Brierley Hill waste mountain remains as nobody willing to pay clean up cost
Residents who thought their nightmare living in the shadow of a huge pile of rubbish was over could be stuck with the eyesore because nobody is willing to pay for it to be removed.
The saga over the 19ft waste mountain in Moor Street, Brierley Hill, appeared to have to come to an end in June when the owners of the former Refuse Derived Ltd site were granted planning permission to build 94 flats in its place.
But five months on, the pile of rubbish - which features bricks, wood and plastic and has towered over neighbouring properties since 2009, and even led to a company director being jailed - remains untouched and there is thought to be little chance of that changing any time soon.
Although planning permission was granted, the site's owners have not been able to attract a developer to make the scheme a reality due to the astronomical costs involved in clearing the waste - leaving the plans to build the flats in doubt.
It is believed any developer getting on board with the plans would have to part with at least £1 million just to clear the site.
Brierley Hill councillor Rachel Harris, who has led a campaign to have the rubbish shifted, said she had been told by a company acting on behalf of the site's owners that they were 'finding it impossible' to attract developers 'due to the very considerable costs associated with waste clearance and very low property values in the area' and that they were attempting to apply for grants.
She said: "They have had problems attracting a developer because of the costs of remediating the site. It's deeply disappointing. I was under the impression there was a developer waiting in the wings to develop the site and I see no sign of that at the moment.
"It's just horrible, there is a rodent problem on the site, it is just an awful eyesore. Grass and bushes have grown over it and we don't know what is happening under there. It was dry waste - are we going to get fires under there?
"People are beginning to get angry again. It got their hopes up but they have still got this big pile of rubbish and they don't know what is happening with it."
Residents breathed a sigh of relief as the plans to build plush new blocks of flats got the go-ahead. Councillors declared the decision would 'deal with the problems once and for all'.
Over the years residents have been left frustrated in their battle to get rid of the rubbish pile which once reached 40ft.
It was a saga that resulted in High Court action, while company director Robert McNaughton was even jailed for failing to remove it in 2013.
Councillor John Martin, a member of the planning committee, said at the time: "I very much welcome this application. Residents living in Lindsey Place, Moor Street and North Street have suffered what can only be described as a living nightmare facing the huge rubbish mound that has built up. I wholeheartedly support this application."
