Pilsworth 'stench' continues to cause physical and financial problems across Bury and Rochdale

  • ITV Granada Reports reporter Siham Ali spent the day visiting the area around Pilsworth South Landfill

A landfill site is making life miserable for residents and businesses after its "awful stench" can be smelt for miles - with the smell even causing some to fear for their livelihoods.

Pilsworth South Landfill has been emitting a foul smell across Bury and Rochdale since summer 2023.

It has got many residents worried about their health and their businesses, with some saying on certain days the smell makes it impossible to go outdoors.

Steve Middleton lives two miles away from the site, and says he "just won't go out" anymore due to the "awful smell".

He said: "It just smells like rotten eggs, it just smells foul, it's just horrible."

Steve has stopped leaving the house when the wind blows the smell in his direction.

He has lived in Unsworth for 10 years and describes it as "a really nice area", but says it is now making him start "to think do I want to put up with this for the rest of my life".

Steve added he and his family have been getting a number of headaches, which he feels may be related to the landfill.

He said: "We've been thinking is it related to the landfill? We don't really know, but we hear from other people talking about the effects they're having from smell and from the flies and you think maybe it could be that.

"It does make you feel sick, it does make you feel awful and you just don't want to go outside."

He concluded by saying: "Quite frankly I think the landfill should be shut down".

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Nikki worries about the impact the smell could have on her children's health.

Nikki Barker-Gorse, a mother of four who lives close to the site, worries about the health impacts of the smell.

She said: "I worry about what sort of environment we're bringing them into, because they're here 24/7 with us.

"Three of my children have asthma... and you just wonder if it's to do with what they're breathing in."

The stench cloaking this town isn’t just affecting locals physically – but financially too.

The owners of the Queen Anne Inn worry the smell could be bad for business.

Mary Winter is the manager at the Queen Anne Inn, almost two miles away from the landfill site, She says the smell is having an effect on her business.

"It's very unpleasant and obviously if you're eating a meal outside in particular it's not nice, it really isn't nice, so everyone is really worried about it - particularly us as a business going into Spring.

"When it's someone who is visiting the pub and doesn't live in the area, they think it's a gas leak.

"It could effect business adversely. The pub industry at the moment is going through a very difficult time, as is everybody, but it means the difference between developing the business and maybe losing the business.

"If it becomes just unviable because the numbers are not there, because people don't want to sit outside to eat or drink, then obviously we will have to think again."

One resident sent in this picture: It's the fourth fly trap she's put up in the last four months. Credit: Aisha O'Neil

More than 3,700 residents of both boroughs have signed a petition calling for an investigation into the cause of the smell.

Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham will also meet with the Environment Agency on 13 March, following his own visit to the site.

Mr Burnham said he was "taken aback" by the smell, and called for "immediate action".

Beyond the smell, residents have also reported a huge increase in the amount of flies and other insects over the last few months.

For local councillor Angela Brown, it is unclear why the smell has become such an issue.

She said: "We don't really understand what's happening, we don't know why this landfill that's been there for 10 years is now impacting so many people in so many ways."

The owners of the site, Valencia Waste Management, said: "We are fully aware of a significant number of odour complaints within the local area and we would like to apologise to the residents of nearby communities.

"Unfortunately, the extremely poor weather over the winter period has hampered our efforts to cap the areas of exposed waste and improve the capture of landfill gas from the site.

"At the end of 2023, we installed over 90,000m2 of capping of the exposed waste and installed permanent gas collection infrastructure.

"In early March 2024, we continued to install a significant network of temporary gas collection infrastructure however we were not happy at the pace of the installation, so took the decision to suspend the acceptance of waste on site and temporary cap all of the exposed waste.

The Pilsworth site has been emitting a smell since summer 2023. Credit: ITV Granada Reports

"To date, around 80% of the capping work has been completed and gas collection has been significantly improved over the area.

"The installation of a further 12 permanent gas extraction wells has commenced. We are aiming for these engineering works to be completed by the end of this week but the forecasted weather has the potential to impact this timeline.

"We want to reassure the local community that we are taking these odour issues very seriously and we are fully committed to completing these works quickly and effectively.”

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