PICTURES: Fly problems '˜a nightmare' say Arkwright residents

An exasperated Arkwright Town dad says a composting site is making his family's life unbearable.
Residents of Arkwright Town who are fed up with the plague of flies and smell from a nearby composting centre.Residents of Arkwright Town who are fed up with the plague of flies and smell from a nearby composting centre.
Residents of Arkwright Town who are fed up with the plague of flies and smell from a nearby composting centre.

Gary Sambrook, 42, says the flies and smells from the Suez facility on Deepsick Lane are ‘a nightmare’.

According to Gary, who lives on Rose Gardens, when his neighbours complain, the problem does get better.

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He says it quickly returns to normal within days though, and the issue is having a significant impact on their quality of life.

Fly papers with the trappings of one day from a site adjacent to homes at Arkwright Town.Fly papers with the trappings of one day from a site adjacent to homes at Arkwright Town.
Fly papers with the trappings of one day from a site adjacent to homes at Arkwright Town.

He said: “It’s the same every summer. We get a big influx of flies and everyone complains.

“After four or five days the company do something that makes it better but then it deteriorates again.”

Gary, who lives with his wife and two sons, says coping with the problem during the hot weather has been particularly difficult.

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“In ends up that we don’t open windows and just leave the back door open and kill them when they come in.

Residents of Arkwright Town, from left, Tony Searson, Melanie Hodgkiss and Katrina Williams, who are fed up with the plague of flies and smell from a nearby composting centre.Residents of Arkwright Town, from left, Tony Searson, Melanie Hodgkiss and Katrina Williams, who are fed up with the plague of flies and smell from a nearby composting centre.
Residents of Arkwright Town, from left, Tony Searson, Melanie Hodgkiss and Katrina Williams, who are fed up with the plague of flies and smell from a nearby composting centre.

“My wife killed 56 flies in the kitchen one day.

“You can see faeces all over the place so you are constantly having to disinfect things.

“With my sons it got to the point where we would be standing over them while they were having their dinner, wafting flies away.

“And when we’re out in the garden we can only manage about 30 minutes and then have to give it up as a bad job.”

The trappings of one day from a site adjacent to homes at Arkwright Town.The trappings of one day from a site adjacent to homes at Arkwright Town.
The trappings of one day from a site adjacent to homes at Arkwright Town.
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The waste plant - which turns thousands of tonnes of waste into compost - opened in 2014.

As well as the company, Gary says he has had ‘numerous’ conversation with the Environment Agency about the problem but has got nowhere.

A spokesperson for Suez said: “We hold regular meetings of our Community Liaison Group to discuss issues raised by residents living close to our facility in Arkwright.

“At our last meeting, earlier this month, residents who attended, advised there had been a noticeable improvement since the completion of the works undertaken at the end of last year to reduce odours on site.

Fly papers with the trappings of one day from a site adjacent to homes at Arkwright Town.Fly papers with the trappings of one day from a site adjacent to homes at Arkwright Town.
Fly papers with the trappings of one day from a site adjacent to homes at Arkwright Town.
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“We have received a small number of complaints over the last few weeks from residents and we are closely monitoring our operations.

“We would like to reassure residents that we take all complaints seriously and continually seek to minimise any odours from the site.”

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