RESIDENTS say the sickly stench of sewage is still wafting around their homes despite United Utilities spending £700,000 on its latest bid to tackle the stink from Kendal's Wattsfield wastewater treatment works.

Bellingham Road resident Stan Harrison told The Westmorland Gazette the situation was "nothing short of disastrous" and he has written to UU chief executive John Roberts asking: "So what next?"

Meanwhile, Westmorland and Lonsdale MP Tim Collins called upon the water boss to sit down with his scientists and engineers and come up with new solutions to tackle the stink "once and for all".

"It's just sickening," said resident Mr Harrison. "We've had some super weather the last three weeks, just ideal for getting out in the garden, and every time you're in the garden, every so often you get this horrible, sickly, human sewage smell wafting over."

His neighbour Coun Tom Clare, former Mayor of Kendal, said: "The saga rolls on, doesn't it, and where do they go next to try to rectify the problem? The question is whether you keep on patching or you give us a replace- ment, state-of-the-art plant, particularly in view of continued housing develop-ment in Kendal."

Susan Baker, of Wattsfield Road, said she would be writing to complain to UU. "If you open the windows in the evening, that's when it's a problem. You have to suffer with the warmth in the house, otherwise the smell gets in," she said.

United Utilities has just spent £700,000 on Vitox technology to tackle the stench caused by a lack of oxygen in the sludge tank. Scott Burns, of South Lakeland District Council's environment protection group, said the equipment had appeared to be working well, even during the long stretch of warm, dry weather. But no sooner had a newsletter gone out to residents explaining this, than complaints about the stink started again.

He is concerned residents are complaining about the "very, very strong smells" which the Vitox works were designed to tackle. However, he added: "If the works had not been done I've no doubt we would have had far worse problems."

Helen Masterton, for United Utilities, said the Vitox system had made "enormous improvements" according to site manager Martin Chapman, but she added: "We've appointed a scientist who is going to be investigating the process to see if there's any way we can make it more efficient and make any further improvements."

She stressed UU remained "committed" to tackling the issue.

April 11, 2003 09:00