VILLAGERS living near a landfill site say their homes stink of chemicals and they fear for their children’s health.
The towering mountain of waste in Rockcliffe, , is making residents’ lives hell.
Locals near a landfill site say they fear for their children’s health Credit: Guzelian
Glenn and Rachel Shaw who live near the Rockcliffe landfill site Credit: Guzelian
Locals told The Telegraph that they’re forced to contend with a foul smell that “wakes you up in the night” since private company, Seletia, took over the site last .
An expecting couple who live behind the Hespin Wood landfill say they suffer from headaches and fear for their unborn baby’s health
Heavily pregnant Rachel Shaw said: “Since the new people have taken over the site, it’s got bigger. The smell wakes you up in the night – constant eggy food bin.”
She added that when her daughter visited she also started experiencing issues including headaches and nausea.
When she left, she said, she soon started to feel better.
Her husband, Glen Shaw, claims that waste is shipped in from all over the country including , and the Midlands.
“They’re just ramming it in to make as much as they can. It seems like there’s no regulations,” he said.
Elsewhere, Annabelle Harrington said she had lived perfectly fine near to the landfill before Seletia took over.
She said she had noticed them “beginning work much earlier that permitted” as well as an “abundance of traffic”.
“Cumbria waste management had always kept within the permitted limits of 136,000 tons of waste per annum, generally coming in below that,” she said.
Glen Shaw is another nearby resident, who claims he is forced to keep his windows shut because of the stench.
Speaking to the BBC he said: “You can’t get away from it, even with the windows shut.
“It woke me up at one o’clock in the morning once and I was tasting it, not just smelling it.”
Seletia has responded to the criticism, claiming they are not the sole user of the waste site.
A spokesperson said: “Although Seletia sympathises with the public’s complaints about smells, it does not believe they are caused by the landfill operations.
“We are surrounded by other operators at the same site that generate waste-related smells from the treatment of waste.
“A topographical survey is being carried out, we expect the survey will confirm the site is compliant and within permitted heights.”
Cumbria Waste Group and AW Jenkins – who both also use the site – have spoken out, claiming neither of their actions had led to the smell.
Seletia’s other landfill site has also faced significant criticism recently, and is currently under an Environmental Agency (EA) suspension.
Cumberland Council has said they are investigating the issues, and EA has “stepped up” observation since the complaints.
Eze Chidiebere Paul
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