Historic landfill sites in Sowerby Bridge
The Environment Agency records 57 historic landfill sites in and around Sowerby Bridge. covering roughly 67 hectares in total. The largest is Spring Hill Quarry at 7.65 ha. Recorded waste ranges up to special (hazardous) waste. Data: October 2025 revision.
Recorded landfill boundaries around Sowerby Bridge (indicative, digitised at 1:10,000).
All recorded sites, largest first
| Site | Area | Last input | Waste types |
|---|---|---|---|
| Spring Hill Quarry | 7.65 ha | 1993 | CommercialInert |
| Sentry Edge Quarries | 6.04 ha | 1989 | CommercialInert |
| Field off Saddleworth Road | 5.49 ha | 1994 | IndustrialHouseholdCommercialInert |
| Delf Hill Quarry | 5.39 ha | 1983 | IndustrialCommercialInert |
| Moor Quarries | 5.22 ha | 1982 | Liquid / sludgeIndustrialHouseholdCommercialInert |
| Tower Hill | 3.7 ha | 1977 | Inert |
| Scotland Quarry | 3.48 ha | — | IndustrialHouseholdCommercial |
| Land off Saddleworth Road | 2.78 ha | 1989 | CommercialInert |
| Green Head Quarry | 2.73 ha | 1984 | IndustrialCommercialInert |
| Thorpe Garage | 2.38 ha | 1983 | IndustrialInert |
| Ripponden Wood | 1.94 ha | 1993 | IndustrialHouseholdCommercialInert |
| Sunny Bank Quarry | 1.91 ha | 1994 | Inert |
| Warley Town RUFC | 1.83 ha | — | Inert |
| Oats Royd Mill ( South ) | 1.18 ha | 1986 | IndustrialHouseholdCommercialInert |
| Delph Quarry | 1.04 ha | 1971 | Waste types not recorded |
| T.P.T Board Mills Limited | 1.02 ha | — | IndustrialCommercialInert |
| Brown Houses | 0.97 ha | — | Waste types not recorded |
| Boothstead Farm | 0.81 ha | 1989 | CommercialInert |
| Hollins Mill Lane | 0.76 ha | — | Liquid / sludge |
| Bank House Mill | 0.74 ha | 1990 | CommercialInert |
| Spring Rock Quarries | 0.69 ha | 1986 | CommercialInert |
| Sports Club | 0.56 ha | — | Waste types not recorded |
| Flints Quarry | 0.53 ha | — | Household |
| Off Heath Hill Road | 0.52 ha | 1989 | CommercialInert |
| Brown Hurst | 0.5 ha | 1981 | Inert |
| Old Delph | 0.48 ha | 1981 | Inert |
| Field No 2711 South of Haigh Cote | 0.48 ha | — | Inert |
| Land At Lower Hambleton Hill | 0.43 ha | — | Waste types not recorded |
| Sunny Bank Quarries | 0.39 ha | 1981 | Waste types not recorded |
| High Royd Wood | 0.38 ha | — | Liquid / sludge |
| Pinfold Quarry | 0.32 ha | 1990 | CommercialInert |
| Saddleworth Road - Long Causeway | 0.32 ha | 1988 | Inert |
| Heath Lea Farm | 0.3 ha | 1988 | CommercialInert |
| Stones Mill Dam | 0.29 ha | 1988 | Inert |
| Catherine House Lane | 0.29 ha | 1989 | Inert |
| Spring Mill | 0.29 ha | 1988 | Inert |
| Land at Luddenden Foot | 0.26 ha | 1989 | Liquid / sludgeInert |
| Thorney Lane | 0.26 ha | 1983 | CommercialInert |
| Bowers Hall Farm | 0.24 ha | 1987 | CommercialInert |
| Mill House Industrial Estate | 0.23 ha | 1988 | Inert |
| Land adjoining Heathfield Preparatory School | 0.22 ha | 1986 | CommercialInert |
| Land opposite Rishworth School | 0.19 ha | 1983 | Waste types not recorded |
| Land at Han Royd Delph | 0.17 ha | 1988 | CommercialInert |
| Delph Hole | 0.17 ha | 1980 | CommercialInert |
| Boothstead Farm | 0.16 ha | 1990 | CommercialInert |
| Land adjoining Stoney Springs Mill | 0.15 ha | 1986 | CommercialInert |
| Ryburndale Paper Mill | 0.15 ha | — | SpecialCommercialInert |
| Heath Hill Farm | 0.15 ha | 1989 | CommercialInert |
| Stansfield Mill Dam | 0.14 ha | 1987 | Inert |
| Upper Bank | 0.14 ha | — | Waste types not recorded |
| Scout Edge | 0.13 ha | 1982 | Waste types not recorded |
| Upper Willow Hall | 0.11 ha | 1981 | Waste types not recorded |
| Hunter Hill Quarry | 0.11 ha | — | Inert |
| Luddenden Foot Gas Works | 0.09 ha | — | Waste types not recorded |
| Millhouse Dyeworks | 0.08 ha | — | Waste types not recorded |
| St Walburga's Church | 0.05 ha | 1985 | Inert |
| Rear of Commercial Garage | 0.02 ha | 1986 | IndustrialHouseholdCommercialInert |
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 Sowerby Bridge?
- 57 historic (closed) landfill sites are recorded within about 15km of Sowerby Bridge 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 Sowerby Bridge?
- 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.