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Waste company accepts partial liability for smell

Jeremy Stern & Ben Marvell
BBC Radio Wiltshire
Could this be the end for Calne’s mystery pong?

A waste management company has accepted partial responsibility for the smell that has dogged a Wiltshire town in recent months.

Hills Waste Solutions' itted that one of its sites, the Lower Compton landfill, had been "identified as one of the sites in the Calne area which may be contributing to odour issues".

At a heated public meeting in the town attended by Wiltshire Council, the Environment Agency and Hills, more than 40 attendees were given the opportunity to question representatives from the various bodies.

The company also announced that it has been served with Section 36 order, which say it has to remedy the situation by the end of July.

Three men wearing long-sleeved shirts sit behind a table in a public building while being questioned by of the public about unpleasant smells at Lower Compton in Wiltshire
Simon Allen (left) acknowledged the issues at the Lower Compton site and said Hills is working to rectify the problem

Residents have complained regularly about the smell, which has been described as "eggy", "gassy", "stagnant" and "sulphurous", in recent months, with the odours often lingering over the town in the early hours of the morning.

As a sign of the severity of the issue, the Environment Agency said it had received more than 600 complaints in April and May.

'Completely unacceptable'

Simon Allen, waste operations director at Hills, apologised to the local community.

"We accept that we are responsible for some of the odour in Calne," he said.

"We've accepted entirely through the recent odour complaints, that what we have done, in places, hasn't been good enough.

"We're working with the Environment Agency. They've served an enforcement notice to ensure we complete the final capping.

"If I knew 100% what was causing this, and I could fix it, I would. I don't want to be here listening to all these complaints."

Roughly 40 people sit on chairs in the middle of a public building. In the background can be seen wood ling, windows and curtains.
Attendees were given the opportunity to grill representatives of Wiltshire Council, the Environment Agency and Hills' at a rather heated public meeting

Ben Shayler, area environment manager for the Environment Agency said that he sympathised with local residents.

"I completely understand the problems that are being experienced in Calne, and I really feel for the residents", he said.

"It's completely unacceptable the levels of odour that we're experiencing at the moment."

Local councillor Sam Pearce-Kearney said "it was good that Hills' have taken responsibility" and added he is "confident" the issue will be resolved by late summer.

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