The Round Hill Society

Veolia 2017 WTS smells and dust

The saga continues

From The Round Hill Reporter October 2017.

This plant is just outside Round Hill, immediately across the railway lines to the north of Princes Road. It opened in 2009 and has been the source of foul smells, noise and dust ever since. Veolia, the owners of the plant, have tried various ways of reducing the issues, and have pretty well succeeded with some of the noises, but smell remains the number one issue. The problem is worse in warmer weather, so it should be less troublesome to nearby residents for a few months now.

The cause of escaping odours is simple. The tipping floor where refuse is moved from street collection vehicles to bigger wagons for taking it to the Newhaven incinerator is ventilated to the open air, and it is worse when the main doors open to allow vehicles in and out. Currently Veolia spray the heap of waste with a fine mist of water to suppress dust and smells, but this is fairly ineffective in warm weather. We urge residents who suffer to report smells by phone to The Environment Agency on 0800 80 70 60.

During August one resident in Princes Road made the following complaints to the Agency, which includes, as they request, a subjective rating of the smell

nuisance – from 1 to 5.

8th August 10am rated 4
9th August 2pm rated 5
10th August 12.25pm rated 4
13th August 10am rated 3 to 4
15th August 10.30am rated 3
30th August 9.30am rated 5
30th August 1.50pm rated 3 to 4

This summer homes as far away as Richmond Road have reported the smell. The plant was built on a small plot and there is no space to improve it with airlock doors and mechanical ventilation. It seems we must suffer until the site goes away.