15 March 2024 , 11:16
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Locals in an English town are kicking up a stink over an awful smell that they say is plaguing their lives.
Instead of nice sea air, there's a stinky sulphur-like pong coming from a landfill site on Jameson Road in Fleetwood. The locals claim the "awful smell" is causing headaches, trouble breathing, itchy skin and even nosebleeds. On Friday March 8, a meeting was attended by around 40 Fleetwood residents, all angered by the smell emitting from the landfill which is owned by Transwaste who took over the site from Suez in 2023.
Residents Angela Thomas and Pam Diamond said some people couldn't come to the meeting last week because they felt sick, which they believe is because of the smell. They said: "So they were prevented from attending the very thing they needed to in order to contribute to the campaign. One gentleman from Preesall who has COPD and is being made very ill by the air quality had to be advised not to attend because the poor air quality was likely to endanger his health."
Angela and Pam have voiced their fears about the impact on wildlife and nature in the area. They say that the landfill, which overlooks Fleetwood Marsh Nature Reserve, is home to "many endangered and wild birds" like Skylarks, Bittern, Great crested grebes, Tree Sparrows and Peregrine Falcons, reports Lancs Live.
Pam said: "The increase of rats and gulls will harm all ground nesting birds and we don't know what the water pollution will do. If the air pollution continues, we worry that Fleetwood's brave attempts at improvement and regeneration to bring back tourists will totally fail. Who would want to come to a caravan site that smells so bad of rotten onions and sulphides?"
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The landfill site can be seen on the hill near Fleetwood Marsh Nature Reserve (Lancs Live)Transwaste re-opened the cap of "cell five" within the landfill, a section of the site where waste is dumped and compacted. This was done in order to bring it to "modern standards", but whilst the waste was moved, a revolting smell found its way out.Three Councillors also attended the meeting last Friday, including Jimilai Kuruvakadua, Mary Belshaw and Alex Dobney. Next the group have their sights set on the Fleetwood Town Council meeting, where group spokesperson Angela will have a 15 minute slot to deliver the residents' concerns and rely their anger to councillors.
A spokesman for Transwaste said: "The Jameson Road landfill has operated on this site for half a century. It was mothballed in 2017 due to lack of demand at that time and the operational cell (cell 5) was temporarily capped to prevent odour."
"However, in 2019, planning permission was granted to extend operations on the site until 2033. The site was acquired by Transwaste in 2023 and we have undertaken a great deal of work to bring the site up to modern standards."
"This work also involves the installation of pin wells to capture methane and reduce odours. In order to carry out this work, and to complete and permanently cap cell 5, it has been necessary to re-open this cell. Unfortunately, this does mean that for a short and temporary period, the waste is uncovered whilst it is moved around, which inevitably can create some odour."
"We have endeavoured to re-cover the waste immediately to try and minimise this. The problem is exacerbated by the height of cell 5, which makes it more prone to wind which can carry the odour offsite, and recent bad weather and heavy rainfall have meant that this completion work has taken longer than anticipated."
"We apologise for any odours caused by this rectification work and would like to reassure residents that this is a short-term, temporary issue as we modernise and improve odour control."
Left to right: Pam Diamond, Ward Councillor Jimi Kuruvakadua and Angela Thomas (Lancs Live)"Once cell 5 has been completed, it will be permanently capped and a state-of-the-art gas capture system installed which will prevent offsite odour and generate renewable electricity. Future work on the site will take place at a much lower height and behind cell 5, which will also help improve odour control."
"Whilst our priority has been to complete this work as quickly and efficiently as possible, we are also keen to be good neighbours and work closely with the local community. In the coming weeks we will be announcing details of a community liaison group to consult with local residents and stakeholders, new contact channels for resident feedback and details of a community benefit fund to help support local projects."
An Environment Agency spokesperson said: "We would like to thank members of the community who have reported odour issues to us at a landfill site in the Fleetwood area. We use reports to assess information that informs our regulation and response. We have increased our compliance visits to the site to make sure the operator is reducing the risk of emissions and odour.
"We also have officers in the community to investigate odour levels around the landfill site. We are keeping multiagency partners informed and will look to work together to resolve this issue to prevent further impact on the community. Members of the public can continue to report odour to our 24/7 incident hotline on 0800 80 70 60."
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A spokesperson for Wyre Council said: "The Council is aware of the complaint and an investigation is open to confirm the source of the odour. We are working closely with the site operator and the Environment Agency (EA) to address the issue and will provide an update when we have more information. In the meantime, we are advising anyone affected to report this using our online odour complaint form and report the issue to the EA."