WORKING with the Environment Agency during last summer’s fire at Marshgate was described as ‘deeply frustrating’ at times by Swindon council’s chief executive today.

A task group has been set up by the council’s scrutiny committee to look into how the fire was handled and to find out whether things can be improved for the future.

Representatives from the EA, Wiltshire Fire and Rescue and Swindon Borough Council were among those who faced questions from members of the group today.

Lee Averies and his brother David have been charged in relation to the site, so there were restrictions into what the group could cover, but there was a focus on how the eight-week fire started.

Over the course of the incident, which started on July 21, there were numerous meetings between the relevant agencies to decide the best course of action, but it was claimed the EA would often bring people who were not in a position to make a firm decision, delaying the process.

While the fire was out in two months - a quick time when compared with other similar fires - there was annoyance that decisions could not be taken quicker.

Gavin Jones, chief executive of the council, said: “My view of working with the EA on this is not entirely a positive one.

“It was deeply frustrating sitting with senior people who were saying they had no power to make a decision. I think it was almost having to go to a ministerial level.

“One thing I learnt from this is that our relationship with the EA at various levels is not as good as it should be. We can work with people on the ground but we should do more on a senior level.”

The EA took questions in the morning, and told the panel it could not have done any more during the incident with their current powers.

In the end, the cost of clearing the fire cost the EA in the region of a £1 million, largely because it was decided much of the waste should be moved off site.

It also emerged today that firefighters were limited in the amount of water they could put on the fire to limit the amount of run-off into the neighbouring River Ray.

While it was not the overriding factor, the cost to the public purse was an important issue when dealing with the blaze.

However, simply letting it burn out was not an option due to the proximity to homes and businesses.

There was some question as to whether the council should have simply picked up the cost straight away due to the location of the fire but Mr Jones said this would have been an ‘irresponsible’ use of public money.

Overall, most said the reaction to the fire was generally handled well when all the factors were taken into account. The fire was out comparatively quickly and most of the agencies worked well together.

But it was said that some staff possibly needed slightly greater awareness of how to deal with major incidents, so extra training has been implemented.

The group is set to meet again in the coming weeks.