Former landfill sites in M20 (Manchester)
Within 3.5 km of the M20 district centre the Environment Agency maps 3 former landfill sites that fall inside the district (Manchester), with 13 more in neighbouring districts within 3.5 km of its centre. The closest to the district centre is Parrs Wood Road (EAHLD16807), about 1.5 km away. Recorded tipping dates run from 1947 to 1976. Whether any one address is affected depends on where it sits relative to each footprint — check it below.
Environment Agency Historic Landfill Sites record, read 2026-10-09. Waste types recorded across the 3 sites: commercial (3), household (3), inert (2), industrial (2), special (hazardous) (2), liquid sludge (2). 3 sites carry first or last input dates; the rest are undated in the Agency's record.
The 3 mapped sites in M20
Nearest the district centre first. “In use” is the Agency's first and last recorded input of waste; “not recorded” against gas or leachate control means the Agency holds no entry, not that no controls existed. Licence-holder and operator names are held in the record and deliberately not shown.
| Former landfill site | From centre | In use | Waste types | Gas / leachate control |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Parrs Wood Road · EAHLD16807 Manchester, Greater Manchester | 1.5 km | 1947–1976 | inert, industrial, commercial, household, special (hazardous), liquid sludge | gas not recorded · leachate not recorded |
| Parrs Wood Road · EAHLD16814 Didsbury, Manchester | 1.5 km | 1947–1976 | inert, industrial, commercial, household, special (hazardous), liquid sludge | gas not recorded · leachate not recorded |
| Parrs Wood Road · EAHLD16827 Manchester | 1.8 km | 1959–1976 | commercial, household | gas not recorded · leachate not recorded |
Nearest permitted landfill
No currently or recently permitted landfill boundary within 5 km of the M20 district centre on the Environment Agency's authorised-landfill layer.
Former landfill just outside M20
- Rear of Renolds Works · SK4 · from 19371.8 km
- Heaton Mersey Common · SK4 · not recorded1.8 km
- Former Northenden Sewage Works · M22 · 1950–19651.8 km
- Nell Lane · M21 · not recorded2.1 km
- Princess Road - Yew Tree Road · M21 · 1948–19942.2 km
- Melland And Coward Tip · SK4 · not recorded2.5 km
- Landfill site at Barlow Hall Farm · M21 · 1978–19862.8 km
- Longley Lane · M22 · not recorded2.9 km
- 5 further sites within 3.5 km not listed.
Check a specific address in M20
A district page cannot tell you whether one house sits on or beside a footprint. Enter the full postcode: the check measures the distance from the postcode point to the edge of every mapped site within 1 km, says whether the point falls inside one, and counts the permitted landfill and pollution incidents around it.
What a former landfill nearby means for a buyer in Manchester
Three things follow from a tip close by. Ground gas: decomposing household and commercial waste produces methane and carbon dioxide for decades and the gases can migrate through permeable ground, so homes on or beside old tips are often required to have a gas membrane and a ventilated floor void. Settlement: landfilled ground compacts unevenly long after tipping stops, so a building at the edge of a footprint can show differential movement. Searches and insurance: the conveyancer's environmental search flags landfill within about 250 m and can return a “further action” result, which usually means a second-stage report before exchange rather than a refusal.
Read what an environmental search covers and costs, and check the flood history and ground stability for the same postcode — the three hazards a search reports together.
Every site, measured to the address
The report's Contaminated land, landfill & environmental permits section lists every former landfill within 1 km of the address measured to the edge of its footprint, every permitted landfill within 2 km, substantiated pollution incidents within 1 km, and the permits and discharges within 1 km de-duplicated by site — and names the council's Part 2A register as not read, with the CON29 route to it. From £9.99, one address, one price.
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What the report adds on landfill and contaminated land for this address
Get the landfill and contaminated-land findings — £24.99One-off · no subscription · Human-checked and emailed to you · see an illustrative sample
- Every former landfill site within 1 km measured to the edge of its footprint — whether it lies under the address, its years in use, the waste types recorded and what is recorded about gas and leachate control
- Permitted landfill boundaries within 2 km with status and permit reference, and substantiated pollution incidents within 1 km with the publisher's information warning
- Environmental permits and discharges within 1 km de-duplicated by site, with each storm overflow's annual spill count printed beside its permit where the permit reference matches the Environment Agency return
- What stands out at this address — the red and amber flags pulled together and explained
The council's statutory contaminated-land register is not read; the report names it as unread with the CON29 question that returns it. A former landfill nearby is a flag for your conveyancer and surveyor, not a finding that the ground is contaminated.
Frequently asked questions
Is my house in M20 built on a former landfill?
3 former landfill footprints are mapped inside M20 within 3.5 km of the district centre, but a postcode district covers thousands of homes and each footprint is a specific plot. Enter the full postcode in the check above: it measures the distance from the postcode point to the edge of every footprint within 1 km and says if the point falls inside one. For the exact address, the report lists every site with its distance and the questions to put to the seller and surveyor.
How close to these landfill sites is too close?
Desktop environmental searches generally flag former landfill within about 250 metres and can return a "further action" result at that range; between 250 m and 1 km the site is named but rarely needs more. The distances on this page are from the district centre and are only for orientation — the postcode check gives the distance for a point you choose.
Why do some M20 sites have no dates or waste types?
The Environment Agency's historic landfill record was compiled largely from 1990s surveys of council and Agency files and is still being added to. Many entries carry a footprint but no tipping dates or waste flags. A blank is a gap in the record, not a statement that the site was short-lived or took only inert waste.
Does this page show the council's contaminated-land register for Manchester?
No. The statutory register kept under Part 2A of the Environmental Protection Act 1990 is held by the council in its own format and there is no national dataset of it. Ask your conveyancer to raise CON29 (2016) enquiry 3.13 "Contaminated land", which returns any notice or register entry for the property and adjoining land.
Sources
- EA Historic Landfill Sites (Defra DSP OGC API Features). © Environment Agency copyright and/or database right 2024. All rights reserved. Contains information © Local Authorities Used under the Environment Agency Conditional Licence (terms).
- EA Permitted Waste Sites — Authorised Landfill Site Boundaries (Defra DSP OGC API Features). © Environment Agency copyright and/or database right 2015. All rights reserved. Used under the Environment Agency Conditional Licence.
- postcodes.io (OS OpenData / ONS) — district centroid and reverse geocoding of site footprints. Open Government Licence v3.0.
- A site is listed as “in M20” when the centre of its mapped footprint reverse-geocodes to this postcode district; distances are from the district centroid to the nearest mapped corner of the footprint and are for orientation only.
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