Residents have won a victory in their campaign to improve safety at the Grosvenor Chemicals site in Linthwaite.
Five members of the Colne Valley Residents Action Group and local politicians met MP Mike Penning, who is responsible for the Health and Safety Executive, to agree to three formal action points to prevent future incidents at the site and surrounding area.
The MP, who is the secretary of State for Disability, said that the HSE would carry out random spot checks at the factory, which suffered a major blaze in 2010 that released toxic fumes into the valley.
At the London meeting Mr Penning, who was working as a firefighter at the Hertfordshire Oil Storage Terminal fire in 2005, said that he would also write to DEFRA to alert them to various environmental issues that have emerged in recent years.
This is on top of a planned visit to the site with Colne Valley MP Jason McCartney to see what improvements have been made.
Residents of Lees Mill Lane said that the meeting was a great step forward for their campaign, which has also been calling for action to widen the road to reduce the chance of accidents. Mr McCartney, who will also write to the company’s insurers to inform them about the continued concerns, said: “I was glad that Mr Penning gave his time to us and empathised with the worries expressed.
“It’s good to have real action and I’m pleased with the result.”
Group member Andy Walker, who was joined by Elaine and Gordon Radcliffe, said: “We hope that the specific actions will have a positive and productive affect on the company and will help to restore local residents’ confidence in the safe running of the site.”
Other residents have said that the factory has been slow to carry out its promise to increase safety in the area by widening Lees Mill Lane from Manchester Road to the site entrance.
They believe that the current road is too narrow for large lorries and that an anti skid surface needs to be installed to remove the danger of crashes.
However, Grosvenor Chemicals director George Randall said that since the blaze several improvements had been made and they hoped to begin work on the road shortly after obtaining planning permission from Kirklees Council, which owns the adjoining land.
He said: “We have submitted our plans to the highways department to improve access and have spent about £6m on environmental improvements.
“This includes placing bunding (a retaining wall) on the river bank to prevent spills and reducing hazardous chemicals on site.”
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