Mystery surrounds 'disgusting' smells coming from former Mansfield colliery site

Some living in the vicinity of the old Welbeck Colliery site say they are unable to open their windows due to the smells of ‘raw sewage’ or ‘rotting flesh’ which descend on the area most afternoons.

Councillor Philip Shields raised the issue.

“At times it really is unbearable, and it affects all the houses around here. When it gets to around 4 o’clock in the afternoon, you can’t have any windows open at all,” he said.

The former Welbeck Colliery site is currently inhabited by two companies – Biogas Meden and Tetron Welbeck LLP.

Both sites work under strict licensed operational constraints to ensure that their impact on the local community is minimised.

Matt Phillips, plant manager at Biogas Meden said “We are looking into the enquiry and investigating in line with our internal procedures.”

A spokesperson from AA Environmental Ltd. on behalf of Tetron Welbeck said “My Client is aware that there are odour issues emanating from the former colliery however we can advise that these are not attributable to the site operations. There is an odour source within the wider colliery estate which has been investigated by the Environment Agency.”

A spokesperson for the Environment Agency said: “We are investigating complaints of odour from this site which we regulate.

“We take all reports very seriously as we know such problems can disrupt local communities.

“If anyone has concerns they should contact our incident hotline on 0800 80 70 60.”