Historic landfill sites in Dunstable, Central Bedfordshire
The Environment Agency records 22 historic landfill sites in and around Dunstable, Central Bedfordshire. covering roughly 44 hectares in total. The largest is Valence End at 10.03 ha. Recorded waste ranges up to liquid/sludge waste. Data: October 2025 revision.
Recorded landfill boundaries around Dunstable (indicative, digitised at 1:10,000).
All recorded sites, largest first
| Site | Area | Last input | Waste types |
|---|---|---|---|
| Valence End | 10.03 ha | 1998 | Inert |
| Meadway Tip California | 4.76 ha | 1967 | IndustrialHouseholdCommercial |
| Sewell | 4.4 ha | 1970 | Liquid / sludgeIndustrialHouseholdCommercial |
| Totternhoe Knolls Quarry | 4.19 ha | 1997 | Inert |
| Clayhill Farm | 3.28 ha | 1983 | Waste types not recorded |
| Shepherds Farm | 3.06 ha | — | Waste types not recorded |
| Edlesborough | 2.43 ha | 1984 | IndustrialHouseholdCommercialInert |
| Kensworth Road | 1.94 ha | 1969 | Liquid / sludgeIndustrialInert |
| North of Downs Farm | 1.91 ha | 1967 | HouseholdCommercial |
| Spoondell Quarry | 1.72 ha | — | Household |
| Disused Chalk Pit | 1.17 ha | 1993 | Inert |
| Byslips | 0.92 ha | — | Waste types not recorded |
| Dunstable | 0.8 ha | — | Waste types not recorded |
| London Gliding Club | 0.66 ha | — | Waste types not recorded |
| Sewell Lane | 0.39 ha | 1990 | Liquid / sludge |
| Shortgrove Manor Farm | 0.33 ha | — | Waste types not recorded |
| Studham Gravel Pit | 0.33 ha | — | Household |
| Spratts Lane | 0.33 ha | 1994 | Inert |
| Zouche's Farm | 0.28 ha | 1969 | IndustrialInert |
| Icknield Way Farm | 0.2 ha | 1993 | Inert |
| Sewwll Quarry | 0.2 ha | 1975 | Waste types not recorded |
| Kensworth Quarry | 0.2 ha | 1970 | Industrial |
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 Dunstable?
- 22 historic (closed) landfill sites are recorded within about 15km of Dunstable 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 Dunstable?
- 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.