The Environment Agency (EA) says that the foul smell that has plagued upper parts of Brightlingsea over the last few days is down to gas works – and doesn’t emanate from the Dunmow Group waste processing site off Robinson Road.
Residents have reported suffering headaches, nausea and even asthma attacks from the gassy smell, with many forced to close windows despite the heat. The smell has also been noticeable in the Fiveways store.
The findings by an EA officer would appear to be at odds with a statement issued by Brightlingsea Town Council, which said it had been told by Dunmow’s site manager on Wednesday (August 10) that there had been a “reaction”exacerbated by the hot weather following a “routine processing operation” which had caused the odour. The company said processing had been suspended and that the smell would dissipate within 48 hours.
The EA report confirms this version of events. Its officer visited on the same day and reported that “the management explained there had been an issue that morning which they had resolved”. The officer conducted odour monitoring and found nothing at the site – but did claim to notice a “very strong gassy smell” from roadworks “near the junction of Bateman Road and Manor House Way”.
The officer concludes that the gas pipe replacement works were the source of the problem, suggesting that the latest complaints coincided with works that “only commenced in the last few days”. However, Brightlingsea Info understands that Tendring Council’s environmental health officers received reports of issues before the latest incident, and have passed on details to the EA.
Work has been going on to replace gas pipes around the Manor estate for several weeks and many residents suspected a gas leak might have been the cause of the smell. However, after reporting it to the contractor, Cadent, they were told checks had found no leaks.
The full EA statement was sent to Brightlingsea Town Council and is printed in full below. Brightlingsea Info has contacted the EA, Dunmow Group and Cadent for comment. Note that the statement refers to the Eastern Waste Disposal site – Dunmow acquired EWD in December 2020.
‘On Wednesday we saw a very sudden increase in reports of odour attributed to the Eastern Waste Disposal site. The site has an environmental permit issued by the Environment Agency. We sent an officer to Brightlingsea to investigate and they arrived before midday.
The officer conducted odour monitoring in several locations in the area before visiting the EWD site itself. Our officer substantiated a very strong gassy smell by the roadworks taking place by Cadent near the junction of Bateman Road and Manor House Way. These works can be seen on the Cadent website at https://cadentgas.com/in-your-area/search-for-your-location. The work only commenced in the last few days and is expected to carry on for a further 2-3 weeks. (A majority of the reports we received described the odour as being gassy, with some reporters also contacting Cadent.)
The officer then visited the EWD site for almost an hour. The management explained there had been an issue that morning which they had resolved, but at that time there was no odour detected at EWD or immediately downwind. We continued to receive reports throughout the time the officer was stood on site and are still receiving them now.
Based on our findings, and taking into account the report details, locations, wind direction and coinciding with the Cadent work we believe this surge in reports has been caused by these gas works. We will of course continue to monitor the situation. Residents should continue to use our 24/7 Incident Hotline (0800 80 70 60 or [email protected] ) to report any issues that they are experiencing from any sites we regulate.’
Update:
In an article on the Daily Gazette website, Edward Barnes, chief technical officer at Dunmow Group is quoted as saying: “As per our daily site checks, the site management noticed a faint odour coming from the site located at Morses Lane. This was caused due to the exceptionally sustained hot weather we are experiencing at the moment.
“The business followed its procedures and has resolved the odour with consultation from the Environment Agency. Reports of chemicals and other substances coming from the site are unfounded. It was noted by our compliance team, other agencies and the public around several other odours coming from civil engineering gas works and a local fire in Brightlingsea at the time which are not associated with the business.”
