Former landfill sites
What is a former landfill site?
A former landfill site is an area that has been used to dispose of rubbish from the construction industry, commercial businesses and households. The site will have closed to accepting rubbish and have been restored.
How do we decide what to do with the land after the site has closed?
When a landfill site is originally granted planning permission, the future land use is sometimes agreed as part of the planning application. If not, the site will usually be restored so that it can be used for either recreational purposes such as golf courses or football pitches, or for agriculture such as grazing.
How safe is a landfill site?
Landfill sites that are regularly monitored, and any leachate removed, are relatively safe. There is a slight risk from escaped landfill gases but if this happens it is more likely to cause plants and trees to die than cause an explosion.
If gases are released why create recreational spaces there?
Due to the possibility of gas escaping it is safer to use a former landfill site for recreational purposes rather than build houses there. This is because any gases will go straight into the atmosphere instead of building up in a house.
How might a former landfill site affect you?
There are many former landfill sites across East Sussex. Most of these sites are over 30 years old. Many of these sites were filled with harmless rubbish, for example rubble and hardcore. If the site did accept any domestic rubbish such as meat, bones or food, these will have rotted away by now.
Former landfill sites in East Sussex
East Sussex County Council currently monitors 17 former landfill sites for landfill gas and removes leachate from 5 of these sites. The sites which are currently monitored for landfill gas are listed below.
Further information
For more information please contact the waste management team:
Tel: 01273 482153
Email: waste.disposal@eastsussex.gov.uk
Alternatively you can contact your district or borough council:
Eastbourne – environmentalhealth@eastbourne.gov.uk
Hastings – envadmin@hastings.gov.uk
Lewes – ehealth@lewes.gov.uk (for the attention of Tim Bartlett)
Rother – envhealth@rother.gov.uk
Wealden – licensingandpollution@wealden.gov.uk
