Amanda Milling, Member of Parliament for Cannock Chase, has welcomed news that a high court interim injunction order has been served on the operators of the waste site in Slitting Mill.
The court order prohibits the operators from importing or processing material on the site. Staffordshire County Council served the interim injunction order this week on behalf of the many agencies involved in the Slitting Mill Fire.
The order was served on Denis Ward and Steven Reeves-Morgan, who had been bringing waste onto the site unlawfully. This court order means they must not bring waste onto the site, not recycle or burn any waste or disturb the waste which is currently buried onsite. In addition, they cannot remove any waste currently onsite unless correctly authorised by the agencies involved.
Breaches of this order could result in a fine, assets being seized or imprisonment. Staffordshire County Council has said a full order can be made after a trial, expected early in 2017.
Amanda Milling said, “This fire should never have happened in the first place but I am very pleased that this action has taken pace. Hopefully this means that the whole unfortunate saga can be brought to a close soon. The fire caused huge amounts of distress to local residents and this is an important step in preventing this from happening again. I look forward to more information being released as the investigation continues.”