Historic landfill sites in Chester-le-Street, County Durham
The Environment Agency records 23 historic landfill sites in and around Chester-le-Street, County Durham. covering roughly 176 hectares in total. The largest is Kibblesworth Quarry at 24.54 ha. Recorded waste ranges up to special (hazardous) waste. Data: October 2025 revision.
Recorded landfill boundaries around Chester-le-Street (indicative, digitised at 1:10,000).
All recorded sites, largest first
| Site | Area | Last input | Waste types |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kibblesworth Quarry | 24.54 ha | 1989 | IndustrialHouseholdCommercialInert |
| Blythe Brickworks | 24.2 ha | 1987 | IndustrialHouseholdCommercialInert |
| Lumley Waste Disposal Site | 13.58 ha | 1993 | SpecialIndustrialHouseholdCommercialInert |
| High Urpeth Quarry / Landfill Site / Hargreaves Clearwaste Limited | 12.25 ha | 1989 | SpecialLiquid / sludgeIndustrialHouseholdCommercialInert |
| Higher Urpeth Waste Disposal Site | 12.25 ha | 1994 | Inert |
| Sledge Hill Farm | 11.31 ha | 1993 | Inert |
| Sledge Hill Reclaimation Site | 11.31 ha | 1984 | IndustrialInert |
| Land South of Westline Ind Est | 10.23 ha | — | Waste types not recorded |
| Station Lane | 7.3 ha | — | Waste types not recorded |
| North Quarry No.1 | 7.09 ha | 1994 | SpecialLiquid / sludgeIndustrialHouseholdCommercialInert |
| North Quarry | 7.09 ha | 1991 | IndustrialInert |
| Urpeth Waste Disposal Site | 6.94 ha | 1979 | IndustrialHouseholdCommercialInert |
| Hett Hills Waste Disposal Site | 6.79 ha | 1992 | Liquid / sludgeIndustrialHouseholdCommercialInert |
| Pelton Fell Brickworks Quarry | 5.37 ha | — | Waste types not recorded |
| Barley Mow | 4.57 ha | — | Waste types not recorded |
| Station Lane No.1 | 3.93 ha | 1985 | IndustrialHouseholdCommercialInert |
| Durham Chemicals | 3.29 ha | 1980 | SpecialIndustrialHouseholdCommercialInert |
| Plawsworth Quarry | 2.16 ha | 1991 | Inert |
| Acorn Villa | 1.11 ha | 1982 | Inert |
| Pelton Grange Farm | 0.35 ha | 1994 | Inert |
| Birtley Sewage Treatment Works | 0.2 ha | — | Waste types not recorded |
| Area C South of Grange Villa | 0.2 ha | — | Waste types not recorded |
| Land South of Newfield | 0.2 ha | — | Waste types not recorded |
What this data does — and doesn't — cover
- Licensed-era records only. Waste licensing began in 1974. Older tips — especially small pre-war ones — are incompletely recorded, so absence from this data does not mean no landfill ever existed here.
- Not the contaminated-land register. Councils hold a separate register of land determined as contaminated. A historic landfill entry is not a contamination determination, and vice versa.
- Boundaries are indicative. Digitised at 1:10,000 scale; some are buffers around a point rather than surveyed edges.
- Not a substitute for a formal environmental search. If you're buying, your conveyancer's environmental search checks this and several other sources.
EA Historic Landfill dataset, October 2025 revision. More on the methodology page.
Common questions
- How many former landfill sites are there in Chester-le-Street?
- 23 historic (closed) landfill sites are recorded within about 15km of Chester-le-Street town centre in the Environment Agency's Historic Landfill dataset (October 2025 revision). Pre-1974 sites are incompletely recorded, so the true historical number is likely higher.
- How do I check a specific address in Chester-le-Street?
- Search the postcode on Landfill Check — you'll see every recorded site within 1km, with distance, direction and waste types, measured to the site boundary.
Nearby areas
Worth reading: buying a house near a former landfill and what the waste types mean.