King's private estate tried to sell toxic waste site to Wigan Council

In January, Channel 4 News revealed the 25,000-ton site, dubbed UK’s “most dangerous illegal waste dump”, was on land largely owned by the Duchy of Lancaster - the King’s extensive private portfolio of properties and estates.

When approached by the programme the Duchy said it had offered to transfer the land to Wigan Council in July last year.

However, correspondence between the council and the Duchy, obtained by Channel 4 News via a Freedom of Information request, shown last night (April 27) reveals it actually tried to sell the site to the council at full market price.

Then in February, the Duchy followed up with the Council explicitly offering to transfer the land for free.

The Duchy wrote: “We have discussed the matter with the Duchy Solicitor who has confirmed the Duchy will transfer the property to the Council for nil value and with each party bearing their own costs in the hope that that will assist the Council in dealing with the property in conjunction with its own adjoining land.”

Initially, the council tried to keep the correspondence hidden from the public, rejecting the FOI request due to ‘legal privilege’. Channel 4 News appealed to its Legal, Governance and Election’s Division, eventually the council apologised and provided the documents.

Emails from the Duchy's solicitors, Farrer & Co, show in addition to the transfer offer, the Duchy attempted to sell the contaminated land at market value to the council.

In July, the Duchy wrote: “… it may be possible to sell the land to you. Any sale would have to be at open market value and the Duchy of Lancaster's valuers, and our costs would have to be paid as well.”

Wigan Council today (MON) told Channel 4 News it “respectfully declined” the Duchy’s offer.

Member of Parliament for Makerfield, Josh Simons, told Channel News: “My constituents have suffered for years because of this disgusting illegal waste dump, put there by organised criminals. The idea that anyone would profit from this land is disgraceful. The opposite should be true: everyone, no matter who they are, should roll up their sleeves to help solve the problem.”

Last month, Greater Manchester Mayor, Andy Burnham, said that the Duchy’s plan to hand contaminated land to the local council is “not an acceptable response”. Since then, the government announced it will fund the clean-up of the Wigan site, although this has yet to begin.

A Duchy of Lancaster spokesperson said: “We continue to work with Wigan Council to try and find an effective resolution to the illegal waste site.”

Wigan Today first reported on the issue at the beginning of 2025 when residents complained about fleets of lorries carrying waste to the former scrap yard.

The authorities were slow to react and later the owners of plant machinery loaned to the site were threatened by the tip operators when they tried to retrieve their vehicles.