Telford blaze: Council will pursue 'any person, company or organisation' necessary to recover thousands spent on clear-up

The blaze at the Greenway Polymers site in Ketley started in late April, and was finally extinguished on Monday, May 24.

The council has pledged £200,000 towards demolition work required at the location. Companies that had been operating at the site previously are no longer in business and have gone into administration.

Council leader Shaun Davies has called on the Environment Agency (EA) and the Department for Energy, Food and Rural Affairs, to “come forward with an urgent plan about the future of the site”.

The EA said it will conduct an investigation into the fire, and that its officers were remaining on site for several days after the fire service had finished "to ensure that it is in a position where there is minimal impact on the environment and to reduce the possibility of further fire occurring".

In an official statement the organisation said the site was being handed back to the landowners.

Opponents

Addressing his cabinet, Councillor Davies paid tribute to the county’s fire service who had “worked tirelessly over the last four weeks”.

He said initial advice had told the council “that it would burn for 12 months without the intervention of the council and the Environment Agency”.

Councillor Davies said this was why “this council, despite criticism levelled at it by our political opponents, invested £200,000 to bring this fire under control and out in a timely fashion”.

He added: “Let me be very clear and repeat what I’ve already side: We will robustly go after any person or company or any organisation that we can claim that money back from.”

Earlier this week, opposition Conservative leader Nigel Dugmore said he had concerns about the quantity of waste stacked up on the site when he visited as part of a planning application in 2017.

“We were assured that council officers would monitor the site and pass on concerns to the Environment Agency, but this doesn’t appear to have happened,” he said.

Councillor Davies told his Labour cabinet: “I think some people saw a fire. Unfortunately, others saw a political football to be used, and this council has made a decision very clearly to work on behalf of residents of the area, to bring this fire under control and any suggestion that this council or its officers have not acted appropriately needs to be backed up by evidence.

“I think we need to ensure that the political conversations that take place in this borough always focus on the issues and not individuals, and particular officers, who cannot openly and publicly defend themselves against allegations made with little and no evidence.”

At its peak, 80 firefighters were tackling the fire at the Greenway Polymers site, formerly known as Johnson Aggregates and Recycling Ltd, Greenway Waste Recycling and Pink Skips.