Notorious RDF rubbish pile finally disappearing from Brierley Hill
After a lengthy battle and High Court action a gigantic mountain of rubbish is finally being removed in Brierley Hill.
A huge pile of waste has remained at the site of the former Refuse Derived Fuel plant off Moor Street for more than six years, much to the despair of local councillors and residents.
The dispute even resulted in the former company director being jailed for failing to remove it in 2013 following intervention by the High Court.
Now, finally, contractors have been called in to start the mammoth clean-up operation, which is expected to take around eight months.
At one point the rubbish mound towered as high up as 40ft, although it is now in the region of 19ft.
Among those who have been part of the long-running campaign for its removal, is Labour councillor for the Brierley Hill ward, Councillor Rachel Morris.
"I an thrilled. I think it really is an example of people power. The local people really rallied round to make sure what they wanted to happen, did happen," she said.
"It really has been an appalling eyesore."
According to the Environment Agency the removal has taken so long because they wanted to ensure the cost didn't fall on taxpayers, and that the landowners instead paid the cost of getting rid of the waste.
Marc Lidderth, environment manager at the Environment Agency, said: "We've been working closely with the landowners of the former RDF Ltd site to make sure the remaining waste is cleared, but not at the expense of the tax payer.
"The landowners have agreed to fund the clearance of the site and it is expected it will take approximately eight months to clear.
"We're informing local residents of these latest developments and would like to thank them for their support and patience.
"We are committed to ensuring that any impact of these works on the community is kept to a minimum and will liaise with the landowners throughout their work clearing the site."
It is hoped that once the area has been cleared of all the rubbish, plans can progress to construct flats.
A scheme to build two blocks containing 94 flats has already been granted outline planning permission.
