Fire at Beenham compost could burn for another month

Firefighters issued an alert following the fire in 1,000 tonnes of material at the site leased to the company, Good 2 Grow Recycling Ltd, on land owned by Grundon, in Beenham.
On November 30, the huge pile of organic material – the size of a football pitch – spontaneously combusted, sending plumes of smoke drifting for miles and fire chiefs decided the best procedure was to let it burn out.
Royal Berkshire Fire and Rescue spokesperson, Ellie Gray, confirmed yesterday (Weds) that the fire was still burning and set to do so for up to a further four weeks:
“Although the volume of material is reducing slowly, a great deal remains and it is now thought likely that it will take at least a further two to four weeks before the material has been burned away,” said Ms Gray, adding:
“It remains as a controlled burning and RBFRS continues to monitor the situation, with officers visiting the site every few days.”
Shortly before Christmas, Christopher Wheelwright, a director of Good 2 Grow, issued a statement confirming that a serious machine fire in August at the plant had forced the company to cease trading in October:
“Sadly all staff were laid off as of the 1st November and G2G Ltd had no presence on site thereafter,” said Mr Wheelwright, while apologising to affected nearby residents.
Grundon, which leased the site to Good2Grow in 2009, also issued a issued a pre-Christmas statement confirming when Good2Grow approached Grundon about leasing the site, they were an established composting company, while pointing out the site was operated under an Environmental Permit issued by the Environment Agency.
The Environment Agency, which received 14 complaints about the fire, has confirmed it was investigating whether Good2Grow had breached any of its permit conditions.
West Berkshire Council also received 25 enquiries about the fire, the council has confirmed.
The RBFRS has warned residents to keep windows closed and stay indoors and for anyone affected to seek medical advice.