PENKETH councillors want action taken to stop Gateworth Tip from leaking waste sludge, and are calling for the site to be restored for community use.

A meeting of Warrington's Agenda 21 waste group heard how leachate waste liquid was seeping from the sides of the site, causing an unsightly sludge to form on the surrounding pathway.

At the moment people are also unable to go on to the site because of landfill gases, and councillors say they want to see the site sorted out and landscaped.

When Gateworth Tip, which is no longer used for tipping, was developed some 30 years ago, there were no controls to contain leachate.

But Warrington Borough Council environmental officer Andrew Gilbert says that work is being done to tackle the problem.

"We will be discussing the issue with Agenda 21 and looking at the future of the site," he said.

Penketh councillor and Agenda 21 member Linda Dirir says that in the long-term, the council may have to look for funding for the project, possibly from European sources.

She said: "We are concerned about it now, but at the same time we are fighting the Arpley landfill site extension application. Gateworth needs to be addressed as a matter of urgency after the Arpley application is determined."

But she says that there are lessons to be learned from the situation at Gateworth.

"We won't be sold the idea that the Arpley site can be used for community use afterwards. Yes, they can line the tip to control the leachate, but that can break and there is still the issue of landfill gas."