Rotten eggs. Sewage. Rotting flesh. Not the scents you want coming inside your home when you open your windows.
And yet, for residents in Bickerstaffe and Kirkby, this is their reality.
Children unable to play outside, people being made physically sick, breathing problems, families unable to hang their washing out to dry, even, at times, schools being forced to close.
The Simonswood Stink is affecting people's health and day-to-day lives in a really serious way.
My colleague Anneliese Midgley, MP for Knowsley, her predecessor the late Sir George Howarth MP and I have fought relentlessly on behalf of our constituents for years.
We've taken this issue to Parliament on multiple occasions, led an extensive media campaign, engaged with West Lancashire Borough Council, Lancashire County Council, Knowsley Council, the police, and the Environment Agency.
Unfortunately, Reform-led Lancashire County Council and the Environment Agency, the organisations responsible, have been slow to act on this – time and time again.
Despite this, we have had some significant progress recently. Earlier this year, the Environment Agency led a multi-agency crackdown at Simonswood Industrial Estate and Windmill Services Ltd have been served a Revocation Notice, meaning they must stop all activities previously allowed by the permit.
The fight does not stop there. The mountains of waste have not been cleared, causing the ongoing stink. Heavy goods vehicles are exceeding the weight limits on nearby roads, causing dust to be kicked up.
This is an issue that doesn't just affect us but all areas of the country. It's great news that the Government has recognised how serious and widespread issues like the Simonswood Stink are, with the recent announcement on cracking down on waste crime.
Changes include a bigger role for the police and the National Crime Agency, local agencies with improved intelligence sharing and enforcement coordination and an increase in Fixed Penalty Notices issued by the Environment Agency for waste, from £300 to £5,000.
Anneliese and I are continuing to fight on this. I am pushing the Environment Agency to take further action and enforce the removal of the waste mounds.
Read more
New SEND school approved in Accrington office space as numbers continue to rise
Man chains himself to caravan in peaceful protest outside council offices
Councillor suing NHS warns tribunal backlog could undermine workers' rights
I am also pushing Lancashire County Council to take action on the roads. Too many heavy goods vehicles (HGVs) are exceeding the weight limit, adding to the dust issues as well as potentially damaging the road surface.
The Simonswood Stink has gone on for far too long. It's completely unacceptable.
Thank you to everyone who has contacted me on this and who continues to campaign alongside us. Together, we will get rid of the Simonswood Stink once and for all.
Share