Call for probe into smells around sewage works

BBC News

04-04-2025

A Plymouth councillor claims people who live near a sewage treatment works in the city are forced to shut their windows and their children do not play outside.Councillor Kevin Sproston, who represents the Budshead ward, told South West Water (SWW) representatives at the meeting there was a "distinctive smell" at Camel's Head, near Keyham.The water firm said it kept track of calls about odours and would look into the issue at Camel's Head.The natural infrastructure and growth scrutiny panel has called for an investigation into the community impact from all the company's five treatment works serving the city and wider catchment area, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.
Sproston said the smell at Camel's Head was becoming a "huge problematic issue"."Around these sewage works there are built up communities and many residents are suffering," he said.The smell emanating from SWW's Plymouth Central site at Marsh Mills has become known locally as the "Plympton Pong", according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.After visiting the site, South West Devon MP Rebecca Smith said the smell happened when the plant, which serves the growing new town of Sherford as well as other areas of the city, was operating below capacity. She said she expected things to improve when more people moved in and flushed their toilets.Currently, sewage is flowing through the system slowly, causing the smell, she added.
'A very long time ago'
SWW's director of asset management Mark Worsfold said the company used chemicals to reduce odours."A lot of our treatment works were constructed a very long time ago, before housing was built around them," he said."Now houses are much closer and people are more conscious of any smells."He said Plymouth was unusual in having several treatments works, when some cities only had one.Part of the company's future work is to see if it can manage with fewer sites, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.