There was a major problem with flies in Duckmanton and Poolsbrook last week and the impact on residents was significant. The hot weather clearly exacerbated the problem and also meant people were unable to open their windows despite the extreme heat.
My office immediately contacted both Valencia, owners of the Erin Landfill site, and the Environment Agency regarding the problems. The Environment Agency did complete a site inspection but I am informed that they could not find an issue at the site. As Poolsbrook and Duckmanton are the only places in the Borough that report these fly infestations, it is logical to believe the landfill site is the cause, or an exacerbating factor.
Valencia informed me that they were taking measures such as additional fogging, which is the use of a chemical fly agent in high concentrations to kill the flies in a specific hot spot. I visited Poolsbrook Primary School on Friday and the fly problem had significantly reduced, but it is not clear if it was due to the actions taken by Valencia, and the company does not believe the flies were from their site. I have still asked Valencia to consider increasing the frequency of fogging and other measures as a precaution. I am told that due to the chemicals involved, there are limitations on how often fogging can be done.
The Environmental Health team at Chesterfield Borough Council have taken a proactive response to the infestation and have collected a sample of flies from a Staveley resident, which have been sent to a specialist company for identification as to the exact type of fly. Once this is known, they will be in a better position to understand if the flies are connected to the landfill site or ‘common house flies’.
I also intend to attend the Erin landfill stakeholder forum on the 29th July.
I will keep residents updated on any developments or further actions.