Mineral Processing Ltd

Mineral Processing Ltd is a site at South Elmsall, Wakefield which was a former brickworks and ash-pit. Mineral Processing Ltd hold a an environmental permit to store waste and treat it to produce soil, soil substitutes and aggregate.  

The picture above shows drone photos from the MPLS site taken in 2021

Mineral Processing Ltd hold an environmental permit that hold an environmental permit that allows them to store waste and treat it to produce soil, soil substitutes and aggregate.  

In June 2024, we suspended the environmental permit held by Mineral Processing Ltd for its regulated facility at South Elmsall.

We issued the suspension notice as Mineral Processing Ltd is in breach of the conditions of their environmental permit. These breaches result in an increased risk of pollution, including the potential for odour. The suspension notice prevents more waste being brought into the facility. It also requires the staged removal of waste that has been brought to the site in breach of the permit conditions.

On 3 June 2025, the Planning Inspectorate announced that they have dismissed the appeal that Mineral Processing Ltd made against our decision to issue a suspension notice at their South Elmsall site. We have been pleased to note that the Planning Inspectorate agrees with our decision, based on thorough evidence collected by our teams. The Planning Inspectorate has affirmed the suspension notice, which will remain in place. If the operator does not comply with a suspension notice, they will be committing an offence. We will continue to monitor site activity and gather evidence of any non-compliance.

If an operator does not comply with a suspension notice, then they commit an offence.

We have served a revocation notice for Mineral Processing Ltd. The notice was issued on 5 June 2025. One of the reasons we have made the decision to revoke the permit is because Mineral Processing Ltd has made no progress in meeting the conditions of the suspension notice. Mineral Process Ltd appealed this notice to the Planning Inspectorate on 3 July 2025. 

On 2 March 2026 the Planning Inspectorate dismissed the appeal and our revocation notice is now in force. The appeal decision can be viewed in full -Appeal Decision EPR 699.docx  

Revocation means that the permit is cancelled and the operator must cease all activities allowed by the permit and take the steps set out in the revocation notice regarding removal of waste from the site. If they do not comply with the notice, they will be committing an offence.

We carry out regular site inspections will to assess if the Environmental Permit and Suspension Notice are being complied with.

Revocation is not the only enforcement action that we are able to take. We are investigating suspected offences committed since the suspension notice was issued in June 2024 and are still assessing our other enforcement options, which may include serving further enforcement notices and prosecution. We will provide further information when we are able.

Regulating this site is a priority for us and we have significant staff resource dedicated to managing our regulation of this site. Our current work at this site includes:

• Carrying out proactive odour monitoring in the area to collect evidence to determine the impact on the environment and community.  
• Requiring the operator to submit an Odour Management Plan to address the ongoing odour pollution.  
• Studying air quality impacts using our Mobile Monitoring Facility (MMF), which is installed in the area, and hand held gas analysers
• Continuing to inspect the site and recording permit breaches where we find them.
• Monitoring of the water quality in Frickley Beck. 
• Acting on intelligence received around vehicle movements at the site.
• Working closely with partners including colleagues at UKHSA and Wakefield Council teams.  

Our strategy focuses on proactive, intelligence-led enforcement to increase the effectiveness of our enforcement. We work to fight waste crime by gathering the evidence and intelligence necessary to do so. Not all of our actions will be visible to the public.