A CHURCH leader is refusing to meet campaigners against a giant waste dump because of alleged
bullying tactics.
The Dean of Wakefield Cathedral, the Very Rev George Nairn-Briggs, has come under fire from the leader of a group battling to close do
wn the huge Welbeck waste disposal and land reclamation site.
Paul Dainton, leader of the action group RATS (Residents Against Toxic Scheme), said he had written four times to the Dean seeking a meeting to explain the health fears of people living near the Welbeck site, which is flanked by Eastmoor, Stanley, Altofts, Normanton, Warmfield, Kirkthorpe and Heath.
The move followed publicity earlier this year of a £50,000 grant to the cathedral through landfill tax credits from Waste Recycling Group, operators of the Welbeck site.
At the time the Dean said he welcomed the grant to be used to restore the cathedral.
Acceptance of the grant has incensed RATS, which claims the Welbeck tip has been the source of fly infestations and pollution of the River Calder.
Mr Dainton said on the last occasion he had written to the Dean asking for a meeting he had been accused of using hectoring tones.
“No wonder people no longer go to church when they see the Dean of Wakefield accepting this money, yet not allowing us to meet him to discuss our concerns about Welbeck.”
In a reply to Mr Dainton, the Dean wrote that he had been saddened by “the hectoring tone” of a letter from the RATS leader and had responded fully to the points he made.
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