Residents plagued by ‘rotten’ smell after ‘stink pipe’ nightmare

Residents in one part of Merseyside are being plagued by a ‘rotten’ and consistent smell from what has been labeled locally as the ‘stink pipe’. According to a local councillor and business owners on Cambridge Road in Southport, the ‘sewage’ odour has been going on for the last five years.

Jennifer Berrett runs the DBA School of Dance on Cambridge Road and has been living with the problem for the last three years. She said: “Sometimes when new visitors come into reception instead of the happy warm welcome we want to give, their first words are always about the smell outside.

“It isn’t a nice space outside for parents to collect their children and chat with other parents as the smell can be so bad, people just want to leave as soon as they can.”

Responding to a question about the nature of the smell, Jennifer added: “I asked my eight year old and she said “rotten fishtails and expired milk and eggs”. I would say sewage. The kind of smell that makes everyone you pass crinkle their nose.”

Another local business owner is Lesley Macbain who runs House of Mojos hairdressers also on Cambridge Road. Lesley said: “The smell has been a big factor in my moving shops as I cant have the door open on a hot day as the smell is too bad to tolerate.

“It’s being going on for many years and I believe it’s an easy fix, but nobody will accept accountability for it, such a shame as it puts a real dampener on the area for future business.”

Councillor Mike Sammon is the local representative for Cambridge Ward and he has been advocating on the behalf of disgruntled local residents. Cllr Sammon recently visited an United Utilities plant to discuss the issues with management and was presented with a detailed report on some of the causes of the smell and the steps United Utilities have undertaken to address the issue.

The report states that unpleasant odours are a common issue in areas located near wastewater treatment works. However, they also confirmed an air vent located on Cambridge Road had aggravated the problem after they filled it with concrete. The report said: “This caused the manhole cover and frame to lift from the manhole chamber wall and then caused sewerage to spill from

the chamber”

UU has now removed this blockage, but it also noted the travel of waste through pipework and the georgraphical distance also contributed to the issue. The report said it took between two to four hours for sewage to be pumped from Crowland Street to Cambridge Road discharge chamber.

Cllr Sammon said he appreciated the report from United Utilities but hopes its committement to resolving the problem is ongoing. He said: “Everyone knows about this issue and it’s well known in the area – particularly the air vent which has the nickname ‘stink pipe’ – and it’s been going on for five years.”

As a way of assisting in the process, Cllr Sammon suggested that UU install a specific button on its website to allow residents to report issues relating to sewage and odours and this is now under consideration with the company.

A United Utilities spokesperson, said: “We are aware that some residents around one of our pumping stations in Southport have noticed an issue with odours in the last few years.

“We carried out an investigation and subsequently took a number of actions that have helped to significantly reduce the odours being emitted. We continue to monitor the situation and investigate how we can further minimise any odours.”