Latest news with #PlymptonPong
BBC News
04-04-2025
- General
- BBC News
Call for probe into smells around sewage works
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 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 water firm said it kept track of calls about odours and would look into the issue at Camel's 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 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 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 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 of the company's future work is to see if it can manage with fewer sites, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.
BBC News
24-02-2025
- Climate
- BBC News
Devon sewage works upgrade could reduce foul smells
Unpleasant smells coming from a sewage treatment works in Plymouth could be reduced if plans lodged with Plymouth City Council are West Water (SWW) said it planned to upgrade its Marsh Mills site to reduce the smell - which has become known as the "Plympton Pong" - and limit the risk of sewage spills during heavy company upgraded Marsh Mills eight years ago to prepare for the new town of Sherford which will eventually have 5,500 homes. However, the smell happens because the plant is operating below capacity, according to the local Smith, Conservative MP for South West Devon, said the "rotten egg" smell should counterintuitively reduce once "more residents get their keys, move into Sherford and flush their loos". Currently sewage was flowing through the system slowly, causing the smell, Smith said. Storm overflows She added that SWW had told her that fans had been installed above machinery to stop smells from rising and blowing over company said 2023 was the fifth wettest year since records began, causing an increase in storm said it would almost double the site's storm water storage capacity to reduce the risk of sewage spills, adding three new pumps and a 3m (9.8ft)-high said the new equipment would not create significant additional noise, according to planning documents submitted to Plymouth City Council.
