An illegal waste dump that had been established in Bickershaw near Wigan, was reported in Januari to be partly on land belonging to King Charles III through the Duchy of Lancaster. The land is also partly owned by Wigan Council. The dump is on Bolton House Road and has as much as 25 000 tonnes of waste, which is said to be making life a misery for neighbours.
Then Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham was reported to have waded into the row, by highlighting the fact that a similar dump had been cleaned up in Oxfordshire. He claimed that people in Bickershaw were being treated like “second-class citizens”.
Indeed Burnham commented: “Why does this end up like this in the North, but it gets cleaned up in the south? We can’t have a country where people are treated in different ways, where people here can be seen as second-class citizens”.
A long story
This story has been going on for months without any resolution. As far back as July 2025 it was reported that there had been a major fire at the waste dump, which required a multi-agency response from Greater Manchester Fire Service, United Utilities, the Environment Agency and Wigan Council, and forced temporary closure of the local primary school. Since then local MP Josh Simons has been calling for action to get the waste cleaned up.
Wigan Council have also reported recently that the site continues to present a major health risk and that the Environment Agency are going to use their powers to pursue the landowners for allowing the dump to carry on being a hazard to people in the vicinity.
In January this year local Makerfield MP Josh Simons said that Wigan Council was willing to pay its share of the bill, but that the king’s estate should also pay its fair share.
Simons commented:
Organised criminals have dumped 25 000 tons of waste and Wigan Council who don’t have five or six million quid in their back pocket, are now being asked to pick up the pieces.
That isn’t fair. What I want to see is everyone included in this – Wigan Council, the Environment Agency and the Duchy of Lancaster – to come together to come up with a solution.
He even started a petition asking for King Charles to do his bit in helping get rid of the toxic waste.
Simons also mentioned that similar problems in other parts of the country are being managed by the Government, and calls on the Government to do the same for Wigan.
King’s estate tries to pass on responsibility for the site
Meanwhile it was reported in the Environmental Journal that the king’s estate was using what was described as the antiquated escheat principle. According to the Cambridge Dictionary this is when “Whatever land is not actually owned by the public authority may be transferred to it by escheat.“.
Consequently, the Duchy of Lancaster has offered the land to Wigan Council, but Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham has been very critical of this move, arguing that King Charles should be supportive to the local community, especially as he is known as a prominent environmentalist.
Burnham commented:
The Environment Agency should step forward, work with the Duchy of Lancaster and get this site cleaned up. Give this community in Bickershaw back their safety,’ Burnham said. ‘It breaks my heart. I was the member of Parliament here. I know what these mining communities have been through. They’ve just been treated as though they’re like an afterthought for many many years, and it’s so wrong. It’s unbelievable”.
Another parliamentarian got involved last month when Shas Sheehan, the chair of the Lord’s environment committee told the government that the dump, which is next to a primary school, presented a “grave environmental hazard”. Lady Sheehan wrote to the government that the dump should be cleaned up, not only because of its environmental risks but also “because of its public health imperatives”. She also said: “While the committee understands that the Environment Agency is not funded to clear illegal waste sites, there are clearly circumstances in which it can do so under ministerial direction
The dump might spread further afield
The situation then escalated further at the end of February, as it was reported in the Manchester Evening News that a court order had been issued to stop the dump spreading even further, across the road. and that the fire last July had forced nearby schools to close.
People must take responsibility
This is clearly an unacceptable situation. There should not be an illegal waste dump in the first place, but since it has been created it must be cleaned up as a matter of urgency, especially given that it is next to a primary school. Burnham and Simons are also correct to say that the people in the vicinity of the dump are being treated like second-class citizens. 90 years after George Orwell wrote the Road to Wigan pier, it seems little has changed and northern people are still being treated unfairly as compared to people further south.
As usual, as the squabble continues, it is ordinary people paying the price, with their health and the quality of their environment. As Andy Burnham has rightly pointed out King Charles is known for his support of environmentalism and so surely the king;s estate can take their fair share as part owners of the land and pay for at least some of the clean-up.
Whatever happens, the issue needs sorting out.and indeed should have been sorted out long ago.
With some information and pictures from a press release by Local Democracy Reporter Nick Jackson.
Friends of Bylines Network
There has never been a greater need for grassroots journalism that investigates the stories that really matter, holds power to account and champions the voices of everyday citizens. We are proudly powered by volunteers but what we do isn’t free.
STAND WITH US for independent, citizen-led journalism that makes democracy stronger, and you will even get some exclusive benefits.
