Residents hope for end to 'nightmare' stink
Residents near Fleetwood's Jameson Road landfill are hoping that today is the end of the smell that's been plaguing the area.
Last updated 15th May 2024
Residents living in the shadow of Fleetwood's Jameson Road landfill hope the nightmare stink could soon be over.
Those who live near by say they have been driven inside, with family members no longer wanting to visit the are due to the smell.
Today (May 15th) marks the deadline imposed by the Environment Agency to cap the problem waste cell, after the Transwaste ran site was found to have breached its environmental permit.
Local resident Angela Thomas says the rotting onion-like stench has been life limiting: "I can't just drop everything and go out when I want to, I have to check the wind direction on my phone every morning when I get up.
"We've just had 25 degrees and you daren't open your windows because the smell just comes in waves, and once its in you can't get it out.
Angela added: "If people don't have mental health issues now it could start that because people need to get outside and we do have a right to healthy air.
"It's been shown that going outside and being in fresh air is good for you and they've taken that way and I don't think they realise how bad that is."
John Neville, Area Environment Manager for the Environment Agency in Cumbria and Lancashire, said:
“We understand how unpleasant the odour issues are and we are committed to making improvements for local residents and the environment. We have increased our regulatory inspections of the site and our officers are out assessing the odour and its impact daily.
“On 9 April we served an enforcement notice setting out action the site operator, Transwaste, need to take to bring the site back into compliance with its permit. This includes covering the problematic areas of the landfill site by 15 May.
“Six additional gas wells have also been installed to increase the capture of landfill gas from the decomposing waste, which will help to reduce the emissions causing odour. We continue to monitor the work being carried out by the operator to improve odour management.”
Members of the public can continue to report odour to our 24/7 incident hotline on 0800 80 70 60.
We have approached Transwaste for a comment.