We visited the ‘toxic city’ of Mersyside where people ‘cannot open their windows’

For years, people have complained and now the echo can reveal where the problem is

People who live in a part of meseyside have to ‘hold their nose’ due to a smell that has ruined the area for years. In recent years, people in Kirkby They have complained about a smell of ‘rotten egg’ and ‘wastewater’ that residents claim that it is so strong that they cannot sit in their gardens.

Numerous complaints have been filed to the Environment Agency about the smell that came out of a waste mound in the Simonswood Industrial Estate (SIE) on the border of Knowsley and West Lancashire.

The problem is complex in terms of jurisdiction of the local authority, since the SIE is within the area of ​​the West Lancashire Council, supervised by the Lancashire County Council, and the vast majority of the impacted residents live in Kirkby in the Knowsley district. It is also a difficult place to travel, since it is in a winding rural path, with only the huge waste pile as a reference point on the horizon.

After publishing multiple reports on the issue of smell and listening to numerous complaints, the Echo decided to visit the Simonswood industrial sinus to see what we could discover.

While we parked in Stopgate Lane, the first thing we notice was the overwhelming smell of wastewater and dust clouds and debris. Andi T became immediately evident from where the problem arose.

There are tips at the entrance and large mounds of stacked and visible waste material on fences. The roads inside (and immediately outside) the entrance to the industrial heritage is covered with debris that are then taken to clouds of dust every time an HGVS passes, which is every few minutes.

The Echo understands that this is a point of serious concern for the environmental health teams of the Knowley Council that believe that these clouds of dust travel to residential areas and cover people’s homes. In the winter of 2021, the local authority excavated 60 trucks loads of material from the road edges around Stopgate Lane and Pingwood Lane at a cost of £ 55,000.

The residential areas around Pingwood Park are five minutes walk from the SIE and when we conducted through those areas, the smell was as strong as directly outside the industrial site.

We contacted the campaign group ‘Stop The Simonswood Incinerator’ that also creates awareness about problems with SIE. The group has taken an outstanding advantage in the organization of protests against environmental health impacts and the use of a Facebook Group to share information and updates.

When they were asked to characterize the smell, the activists gave a series of vivid and disturbing descriptions. Eleanor Claire Rigby said: “It’s disgusting and smells like bad eggs. It is often in the house of a morning even with closed windows.” She added: “I loved being sitting in my garden in the summer, but the smell is so overwhelming. Sometimes it is strong enough to chew.”

Chris Houghton commented: “Lelists and disgusting, smells like bad eggs, gas and sulfur. I can’t even sit in my garden and enjoy the sun and children feel constantly ill.

“It is absolutely unpleasant, you can’t even open your windows to get fresh air, since it smells so bad. It has been ongoing for so long. This city is starting to become as toxic people“

One of the most common concerns for local people is around Potential health implications And it is summarized by a comment by Angela Arlink that said: “Bad eggs and unconditional chemicals, but you feel nausea, as you have swallowed and breathing.

“It gives us headaches and the anxiety of not knowing exactly what it is and how we can harm us and our local environment. My cat came home with smell today, since it was very strong and the posties also commented.”

Local media have Informed about several of these complaints And there has also been a scathing KnowSley Council However, report, according to residents, has become very little to address the problem. One of the problems has confirmed the source of the smell and its location.

The fact can now reveal that waste management operators, Windmill Services LTD is the company which has been issued with an application notice by the Environment Agency to compile 300,000 tons of excess waste in place. The company told us that they are doing everything possible to deal with the situation today.

Because the business is not based on Knowsley, the Knowsley Council has no direct power to intervene. The monitoring and regulation of these businesses fall to the Lancashire County Council and/OA the Environment Agency, depending on the type and size of each business.

However, Knowsley Council identified that Windmill Services had planning permission For a waste mound of five meters high, but said that this agreement was violated by the increasingly large scale of the mound, estimated at more than 20 meters.

CLLR Tony Brennan, member of the Knowsley Council for regeneration and economic development and the local Shevington Ward, said: “We are still committed to doing everything possible for our residents who have supported long -standing problems with land and dust caused by waste storage in this property.

“It is completely unacceptable that this business has been carrying out these activities for so long without the appropriate permits.

“We have persistently challenged any planning application that is presented for waste uses on this site. In fact, since September 2022 there have been four requests of this type to the Lancashire County Council and all lawyers were submitted to the Lancashire Development Control Committee with an approval recommendation.

“We have submitted the case strongly on behalf of our residents in opposition to these applications, and although the Committee decided to approve the first request, of the remaining three, two were rejected and one was withdrawn by the applicant because it should be rejected.

“In addition to opposing any new request, we continue to apply pressure on the regulatory authorities of the Lancashire County Council, (…) and the Environment Agency to ensure that the daily activities of waste businesses in this assets are properly monitored and any infraction of such apply. The storage mounds are not intended to exceed 5 m, but one of them must be 4 or 5 times that height. “

After contacting the Environment Agency (EA), the Echo understands that the site is regulated by an environmental permit and a compliance notice has been issued to Windmill Services LTD and remains in force, which leads it to eliminate excess waste equivalent to an estimated 300,000 tons.

The EA are aware of the impact of the smell on local residents in Knowsley and West Lancashire and confirmed that it continues to carry out the “directed smell monitoring.” The EA added that it appreciates the “diligent reports” about the problems and encourages people to continue using their direct incident line in 0800 80 70 60 when the smell is remarkable.

A spokesman for the Lancashire County Council did not appoint Windmill Services, referring only to a “business” in the Simonswood Industrial Estate, they said: “The County Council fulfilled a notice of execution on the owner of the business, which requires that the stored materials that are currently too high and breached the planning permit and the waste permit, are reduced in line with the levels allowed.

“We understand that the work is now being carried out on the site to reduce the height of these materials and align them with regulation.”

A Windmill Services Ltd spokesman said: “We regret knowing that residents have expressed concerns. We want environmental and approved “. “Environmental Management Systems”. “.”