Nuisance smell in Fleetwood ‘making some people ill’

A council says it has received 750 complaints about a nuisance odour reportedly making some people ill – but campaigners say the figure is much higher.

The smell is coming from Fleetwood’s landfill site on Jameson Road, run by a firm called Transwaste.

Due to complaints from residents about the chemical smell, described as being like rotten onions or rotten eggs, investigators from the Environment Agency have hit the site with an enforcement notice, insisting the operators rectify the issues causing the problem.

Some residents claim the emissions from the site have caused them to experience a number of health symptoms, including nosebleeds, headaches and breathing difficulties.

Wyre Council, which is the local authority responsible for taking action over a statutory nuisance, is also the landlord of the site.

The council insists it is working with the Environment Agency to deal with the problem, which the government body said older waste being exposed is leading to the smells.

But campaigner Barbara Kneale says more could be done – and says the council has underestimated the number of complaints.

She said: “Wyre Council is the landlord of that site and it also has a responsibility to make sure the operators there are not causing a statutory nuisance.

“People have been reporting this problem since February but here we are in June and it is still causing a nuisance.

“I have calculated, by looking at all complaints sent to Wyre’s own online complaints system, that there have been around 28,000 since February.

“I cannot understand why there have only been 750.

“What is Wyre Council doing to protect people from this environmental nuisance?”

A spokesman from Wyre Council said it was taking every action in its powers to deal with the situation, and the Environment Agency website said it is carrying out daily odour checks and weekly drone flights to look at the site.

The council spokesman said: “Wyre Council are aware of the odour from the landfill site at Jameson Road, Fleetwood and fully appreciate the severity of the issue for all those affected.

“We have currently received approximately 750 complaints and continue working as part of a multi-agency response to resolve the issue.

“The primary regulator for Landfill sites is the Environment Agency (EA), their latest community bulletin can be found here: https://consult.environment-agency.gov.uk/cumbria-and-lancashire/information-on-jameson-road-landfill-fleetwood/.

“The legislation that Wyre Council enforces is generic legislation and relates to statutory nuisance, the presence of odour can be considered a statutory nuisance.

“To assess the odour, officers must assess the impact of the odour at people’s homes.

“Wyre Council officers have been gathering evidence to support a statutory nuisance investigation.

“The Environment Agency have not been satisfied with the operator of the site and have served legal notices requiring Transwaste to implement works to control odour from the site and this is being monitored by both the Environment Agency and Wyre Council.

“This enforcement action that the EA have taken as the principal regulator, is the quickest route to ensuring the operator resolves the situation as soon as possible.”

Transwaste, which the Environment Agency said is working to cap the problem areas at the site, has been approached for a comment.