Landfill Check

Historic landfill sites in Failsworth

The Environment Agency records 39 historic landfill sites in and around Failsworth. covering roughly 213 hectares in total. The largest is Clayton Vale Power Station at 57.11 ha. Recorded waste ranges up to special (hazardous) waste. Data: October 2025 revision.

Recorded landfill boundaries around Failsworth (indicative, digitised at 1:10,000).

All recorded sites, largest first

SiteAreaLast inputWaste types
Clayton Vale Power Station57.11 ha1968SpecialLiquid / sludgeIndustrialHouseholdCommercialInert
Moston Brook21.45 ha1977SpecialLiquid / sludgeIndustrialHouseholdCommercialInert
Land adjacent to Mitchell Street16.86 ha1984IndustrialHouseholdCommercialInert
Land Off Charlestown Road15.6 ha1974Liquid / sludgeHouseholdCommercial
Land to the rear of Fairway14.31 haWaste types not recorded
Land off Grimshaw Lane10.17 ha1968SpecialLiquid / sludgeIndustrialHouseholdCommercialInert
Hardman Fold9.7 ha1980SpecialLiquid / sludgeIndustrialHouseholdCommercialInert
Land adjacent to Church Lane North8.94 ha1977HouseholdCommercial
Clayton Vale8.73 haIndustrialInert
Land at Moston College7.88 haHouseholdCommercial
Clayton Vale Power Station6.18 ha1980IndustrialInert
Land adjacent to Moston Brook5.39 haWaste types not recorded
Land to the rear of Romer Avenue4.92 haHousehold
Lightbowne Phase II4.34 ha1981IndustrialInert
Faillworth Refuse Tip2.42 haIndustrialCommercialInert
Land at Mill Lane1.95 haWaste types not recorded
Hollinwood Branch Canal1.84 haWaste types not recorded
Land off Springs Road1.82 ha1976SpecialLiquid / sludgeIndustrialHouseholdCommercialInert
Land to the rear of Fairway1.78 haWaste types not recorded
Land off Reliance Street1.69 haWaste types not recorded
Greengate Industrial Estate1.34 ha1987SpecialLiquid / sludgeIndustrialHouseholdCommercialInert
Land at Belgrave Road1.07 haInert
Land off Springs Road0.92 ha1976SpecialLiquid / sludgeIndustrialHouseholdCommercialInert
Hollinwood Branch Canal0.81 haWaste types not recorded
Graver Lane0.81 haWaste types not recorded
Hole Bottom Clough (Brook)0.75 ha1984IndustrialInert
Land at Lower Lime Farm0.57 ha1987Liquid / sludgeInert
Asia Mill0.57 haWaste types not recorded
Clayton Bridge Industrial Estate0.48 ha1989HouseholdCommercialInert
Land at Glebe Street0.42 haWaste types not recorded
Land at Sycamore Grove0.41 haWaste types not recorded
Rugby Mill0.38 haWaste types not recorded
Land off Mill Street0.3 haWaste types not recorded
Land off Bluestone Road0.28 haWaste types not recorded
Land at Albert Street0.26 haWaste types not recorded
Land at Duke Street0.22 haWaste types not recorded
Land at Cutler Hill0.14 haWaste types not recorded
Land off Willows Drive0.11 haWaste types not recorded
Land off Ely Crescent0.08 haWaste 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 Failsworth?
39 historic (closed) landfill sites are recorded within about 15km of Failsworth 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 Failsworth?
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.