The town is historically a popular day-trip destination (Image: Getty)
Residents of one seaside town have told of headaches, nosebleeds and even hospitalisation as a result of a nearby landfill. Locals in Fleetwood, a popular coastal town in Lancashire, have described how fed up they are with the smell and fumes that emanate from the landfill site, which is located less than 100 metres from some homes. Jameson Road landfill has accumulated 72 permit breaches since Transwaste Recycling and Aggregates reopened it in 2023. It had been previously shut down in 2017.
Local campaigners told the Daily Mail about the foul stench, which puts off day-trippers to this go-to seaside town. The town of Fleetwood boasts a range of key attractions that bring many people to it to enjoy time by the seaside, such as its beach and the Russell Point Watchtower, as well as fish and chip shops and pubs. However, locals say that the smell makes visitors turn on their heels and go elsewhere. The Environment Agency says that the odour poses no health risk, although locals have contested this.
READ MORE: 8,500 homes to be built in scenic English region – incredible new ‘garden town’
READ MORE: Best and worst places in England to raise a family — full list
« Every day it makes me feel sick. It gives you headaches, sore eyes, the feeling of a hangover, » local campaigner, 65-year-old Allison Rowe, told the Mail. « People come here on day trips, take one step out of their car, smell the stench and turn around. It stinks all day and we’ve been living with this for 24 months. »
Protests have since been organised, with campaigners demanding that the site be shut down for good. Rowe said she believes the foul smell triggered her asthma and COPD diagnoses two years ago.
She said: « The children in this town go into school feeling sick, crying, having nosebleeds. I never had asthma or COPD until two years ago when this started and now I’ve been diagnosed. »
Another local, 54-year-old Richard Falcon, said that he has ended up in hospital twice as a result of the fumes coming from the landfill site.
Locals said tourists are being put off because of the smell (Image: Getty)
Lorrain Beavers, the MP for North Blackpool and Fleetwood, said that it’s concerning locals face a third summer with smells coming from the site. « We’re a holiday town, » she argued.
« People move to our area because they want to breathe clean air. If I went on holiday and had to put up with that smell, I wouldn’t be coming back. »
The Environment Agency has now issued an enforcement notice requiring the operators to cover the landfill. Mercury Group, which is Transwaste’s parent company, said that the levels remain within World Health Organisation safety limits, according to independent air quality monitoring.
Locals say children go to school crying (Image: Getty)
A Wyre Borough Council spokesman said: « We fully understand how distressing this situation is for residents and we take their concerns very seriously.
« We have been working closely with the community to listen to their experiences and gather evidence to support a potential case of statutory nuisance.
« We understand that residents would wish to keep windows open particularly during warmer weather.
« To help build a robust body of evidence that meets the legal standard required to present in court, we continue to encourage residents to record incidents of unwanted odour experienced inside their property by completing diary sheets for at least seven consecutive days and by accepting officer verification visits, both of which remain crucial parts of the process under the legislative powers we hold. »
Source link
