Residents kick up a stink about smelly Kirkby waste transfer station

Residents claim they are unable to open their windows, put their washing out or use their back gardens at the height of summer due to the smell from the site, off Welshcroft Close.

Now Veolia, Nottinghamshire Council and the Environment Agency have been urged to act.

Joanne Severn, who lives close to the site said: “We have been having issues since it was built.

“We have complained to the Environment Agency, county council and Veolia and were initially having meetings with them regarding the odour for them to try to improve things.

“But residents have given up reporting the smell as nothing changes. It is not constant as it was before, but we still smell it on occasion.

“Sometimes it is so bad we have to go back inside our home, so we’re unable to use our gardens as we would like.

“We have the same response from Veolia every time we complain, that everything is working well. So why are we smelling it then?”

Coun Warren Nuttall, Ashfield Council member for Summit, said: “Issues that relate to the location of Veolia’s waste transfer station go back years. Residents have had enough. Many complain about being locked indoors.

“They won’t hang their washing out, open their windows or use their gardens when the smell is at its worst.

“We are demanding an urgent investigation and that steps are taken to mitigate the problem.”

In a joint letter to the county council and Environment Agency, Coun Nuttall, Coun Chris Huskinson and Coun Andy Meakin said: “This smell is getting worse with residents complaining of being unable to use their gardens or have their windows open in the height of summer.

“We are requesting an urgent investigation into this and would like to know what Veolia is doing to minimalise the issue?”

A Veolia spokesman said: “The wellbeing of the community is important to us. We respond to and take all complaints seriously and are carrying out a relevant investigation.

"Although we have not detected any odour from our off-site checks today, we will continue to monitor our operations to ensure minimal impact at all times and ask that if any resident notices an odour to contact us to enable it to be fully investigated.”