Historic landfill sites in Norwich, Norfolk
The Environment Agency records 21 historic landfill sites in and around Norwich, Norfolk. covering roughly 100 hectares in total. The largest is Colney Quarry, North West of Colney Hall at 34.66 ha. Recorded waste ranges up to special (hazardous) waste. Data: October 2025 revision.
Recorded landfill boundaries around Norwich (indicative, digitised at 1:10,000).
All recorded sites, largest first
| Site | Area | Last input | Waste types |
|---|---|---|---|
| Colney Quarry, North West of Colney Hall | 34.66 ha | 1993 | Inert |
| Harford Bridges | 20.23 ha | 1974 | SpecialHouseholdCommercialInert |
| Central Depot | 8.84 ha | 1973 | IndustrialCommercial |
| Yarmouth Road | 7.21 ha | — | Inert |
| Between Yarmouth Road and the River Yare | 6.22 ha | — | Liquid / sludgeInert |
| Hainford Landfill | 5.57 ha | — | Waste types not recorded |
| Lime Pit | 4.61 ha | 1997 | SpecialCommercialInert |
| Keswick Lime Pit | 4.42 ha | 1995 | Inert |
| New Farm | 2 ha | 1989 | CommercialInert |
| Sandhill Quarries | 1.25 ha | — | IndustrialInert |
| Stoke Road | 1.08 ha | 1984 | Inert |
| Near Brook Farm | 0.89 ha | 1991 | Liquid / sludgeCommercialInert |
| Skeets Farm Lane | 0.67 ha | — | Inert |
| Off Yarmouth Road | 0.59 ha | — | Inert |
| Howe Pits | 0.48 ha | 1994 | HouseholdCommercialInert |
| Cantley Lane | 0.46 ha | 1969 | IndustrialHouseholdCommercialInert |
| Between Hall Lane and Reepham Road | 0.38 ha | — | Inert |
| Off Waterworks Road | 0.21 ha | — | Waste types not recorded |
| Leafyoak Lane | 0.21 ha | — | Inert |
| Off Track leading to Warren Plantation | 0.17 ha | — | Waste types not recorded |
| Off Mangreen Lane | 0.08 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 Norwich?
- 21 historic (closed) landfill sites are recorded within about 15km of Norwich 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 Norwich?
- 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.