Complaints over 'slow' progress on £750k clean-up of towering pile of rubbish
Officials have been accused by campaigners of being 'slow to move' on a £750,000 clean-up of a towering rubbish pile.
They claim rats have been seen on the pile of waste in Brierley Hill.
Robert McNaughton, director of Refuse Derived Fuel Ltd director, served a jail term for failing to comply with a court order to clear the site in Moor Street.
But the Environment Agency continues to struggle to get the 19ft high rubbish pile cleared. The agency has been granted a writ of sequestration from the High Court, allowing officials to seize assets from Mr McNaughton and the company.
Ward councillor Rachel Harris said the process was taking too long.
"The EA have been quite slow to move to sequest the funding to get this rubbish shifted," she said. "The council in the meantime is doing its best.
"We are trying to control the rat issues, the complaints about smoke and about odour. The residents want an answer - they want something done now."
Environment Agency manager in the West Midlands, David Hudson, said officials had been out to the site to monitor the pile recently.
He said that bailiffs have also been sent to Mr McNaughton's home as the agency reviews what assets can be seized.
Officials estimate that there are 14,000 cubic metres of waste on the site and it would cost at least £750,000, depending on the amount of material that can be recycled, to clear.
