'We live in the UK's smelliest town but we absolutely love it'

03 May 2023 , 20:55

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Stoke Bardolph has been nicknamed 'Britain's smelliest town' - but residents say the title is undeserved (Image: Joseph Raynor/ Nottingham Post)

Residents of the UK's 'smelliest town' have told of why they love life in their notorious rural home.

The village of Stoke Bardolph in Nottinghamshire is home to just 150 people, according to the 2011 census, and is located in a charming low-lying spot next to the River Trent.

But it has also been infamous locally for several decades over a reputed constant stench in the air, which is said to drift over from a local sewage treatment plant.

Despite these claims from nearby villages and towns about Stoke Bardolph's supposed smells, locals have said they are very happy with life in the town - and believe the reputation should belong to their neighbours instead.

Foul smells are alleged to drift over from a local sewage treatment plant (Nottinghamshire Live/BPM Media)

One woman who has lived in Stoke Bardolph for more than 30 years told Nottinghamshire Live last year: "We absolutely love it here.

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"Maybe 28 years ago it used to smell, some people in Burton Joyce and Netherfield say 'oh it stinks in Stoke Bardolph' but the smell is actually worse in Burton Joyce I'd say, because of where the wind usually takes it.

Another local lady moved to the village more than half a century ago with her husband, who has since passed away.

She said: "If the wind is in the right direction, you can sometimes smell it - but it mostly goes the other way towards Burton Joyce.

"It's been lovely living here. We have seen a lot more people recently, there's been an awful lot of cars parked all down this road next to the river."

Some local residents say the smell is actually worse in other towns, while others say they don't notice it (​​steveplewinski)

However, residents of the larger town of Netherfield located five minutes drive away complained last autumn of a worsening foul smell - with one claiming it would be easy to find the town by smell alone.

Sabrina Raithby, 38, works at the local Co-op and lives in Netherfield. She said that the smells have been around for 30 or 40 years, and get noticeably worse in the warmer months.

She said: "It gets worse over the summer more than anything else.

“It’s not a nice smell, I don’t know if there’s any regulations they can put in place.

“The smell is more down the bottom end of the area.

“You can even smell it in Gedling.”

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Despite the differing opinions over the smell in the area, Stoke Bardolph and its picturesque views over the Trent have proved to be increasingly popular with visitors, with locals reporting large numbers of walkers since the Covid pandemic.

Benedict Tetzlaff-Deas