What's going on at Marley tip? the story of one man's campaign for the environment.

Major work to separate the river from the tip. (Photo courtesy of Rita Tretton)

​Some of you will know that work is taking place to prevent waste from Marley tip leaching into the River Aire. This is a £2m project which should be completed in November. River pollution from the tip has been an ongoing problem for many years, River Worth Friends member Kevin Sunderland has been concerned about the level of pollution from the site for over fourteen years and has persistently campaigned for something to be done about it. I recently got the lowdown from Kevin about his long campaign, here is a calendar of his progress.

​First, a little history.
The minutes of the old Keighley District Council show that the Council had asked for help in 1947 with the land that they were losing to the river at Marley. A point blank refusal came from the Ouse Catchment Board. The tip finally closed in 1963 about the same time as the incinerator was shut down. The land was subsequently used for playing fields. The land affected by erosion is at the Bradford end of the playing fields.

June 2011.
Kevin first spotted the way the river was eroding into the tip when he walked a new path at East Riddlesden Hall. He contacted Bradford council suggesting that they should test the tip for harmful chemicals.
April 2013.
​He got in touch with the Environment Agency (EA) about it but was told that they didn't consider the tip was causing a problem for the river. 

Kevin's photograph of the river eroding the tip, April 2012. Compare this with later picture taken in 2017.

August 2013.
Bradford Council finally commissioned Leeds City Council to carry out tests which revealed  high levels of iron, lead and arsenic throughout the tip. Bad news for the wildlife living in the river and those living alongside it.
December 2013.
​The council sought £400,000 funding to carry out remedial work on the site.

​September 2014.
Suspecting the council would not raise the money Kevin approached the Environment Agency again, armed with the results from the Leeds Council analysis. A more official response from the EA was received which stated that the EA was satisfied that the landfill was not having an impact on the river under the Water Framework Directive and that the site was considered to be very low risk and that they would stop further monitoring.
August 2017.
​Kevin visited the tip with a reporter from the T & A / Keighley News resulting in an article in both papers. Still no action.
Over the years he also contacted  local councillors but was unable to spark any real interest in the situation. 

Kevin's photograph from March 2017 taken from the same position as the 2012 shot above. You can see how much of the tip has slid into the river over the years.

October 2020.
After receiving advice from Councillor John Pennington (Bingley), Kevin approached Philip Davies, MP for Shipley. Mr Davies then contacted Sir James Bevan, Chief Executive of the EA, who told the EA in Leeds to   take another look at the site. Interestingly the EA claimed that they were not aware of any approach to them prior to 2019, despite Kevin repeatedly contacting them about it. The EA revisited the tip and found the effect on the river to be far greater than anticipated, resulting in the EA instructing/advising  Bradford Council to take action to correct the problem.
​

Picture of the tip face which Kevin took in August just before work started.

​RESULT! Well sort of, it has taken another four years but the work is now underway.

Seen from a distance you can see how extensive the work is.

This long story shows that campaigning doesn’t always bring quick results, but with a just cause plus determination, diligence and persistence you can eventually get a positive outcome. This will make a big difference for the river, its wildlife and those living downstream from the tip.

Hats off to Kevin Sunderland. Although he won't like me saying that!
​

The stone banking will be built up using stone gabions, there are some to the left of the picture. Photograph courtesy of Rita Tretton.