SMELLS coming from a Haverfordwest landfill site have been investigated.

A number of complaints from the public have been made to Pembrokeshire County Council and Natural Resources Wales since October of smells coming from the Withyhedge landfill site.

Last week, the council’s planning and public protection services officers and officers from Natural Resources Wales visited the facility and will be monitoring the situation.

NRW said that they ‘fully recognise and understand the great deal of concern’ amongst the local community surrounding the landfill site.

A statement read: “We do not underestimate the impact the continuing reports of odour from the site is having on residents and visitors to the area and we are taking this matter seriously.”

NRW’s staff have themselves smelt the offsite odour on four occasions as well as other odours in the area from agricultural sources as well as other present smells.

NRW is also investigating an overflow from a containment pond as well as potential pollution caused to the Rudbaxton Brook as well as an event that was filmed and posted online of potential effluent pollution. The area was inspected on December 19 after a delay in it being reported to NRW and enquiries are still ongoing but it is potentially linked to the landfill.

Staff from NRW have visited the landfill site three times in November and December to inspect the site operation and management. These visits identified an unauthorised emission which is believed to be surface water. The staff took samples and are awaiting the results.

The site operator has put a management plan in place with action being taken on site to mitigate the smells and reduce the impact on the surrounding areas following advice and instruction from NRW, including an enforcement notice.

Withyhedge Landfill has an Environmental Permit. This means the operators must comply with a set of rules and conditions and operators must be able to explain what measures they are using to protect people and the environment. The permit for Withyhedge specifies what waste can be disposed of there and how much can be accepted. It does not include restrictions on the origin of the waste and the volume of waste the site can accept has not changed since 2011.

NRW is the site regulator, with a permit issued by NRW for the site’s use. Anyone who has any issues with the odour is encouraged to report it to NRW but the public protection service at the council will be supporting NRW’s staff by monitoring the escape of smells from the site in the surrounding residential areas. The council has additional powers as to whether the odours constitute a statutory nuisance under the Environmental Protection Act 1990.

NRW said it will continue to update the community as activities progress and will escalate its response if needed.

Anyone affected by the odour or who has concerns about pollution from Withyhedge Landfill should contact NRW at https://naturalresources.wales/about-us/contact-us/report-an-incident/?lang=en or by calling 0300 0653000 (open 24 hours a day), providing a description of the type of smell being experienced.