Campaign against factory 'stink' gathers pace

A view of the plant's chimney from Leeds Road

A campaign demanding urgent action to deal with what people living nearby say is an "unbearable stench" coming from a Bradford factory is gathering pace.

The Waddingtons plant, off Leeds Road, converts dead livestock, zoo animals and roadkill from across the country into biofuels and other by-products.

A meeting was held at the weekend to discuss the situation during which Muhammed Ibraheem, who lives nearby, said: "The stench is like rancid garbage."

JG Pears, the parent company of the Waddingtons plant, said it makes "great efforts to minimise odours beyond the site boundary" and operates "within the strict requirements" of its permit.

Pressure is mounting on the authorities to act

However, residents say the odour is so strong it forces them indoors, affects their mental health and undermines community pride.

There are also claims possibly toxic residue from the plant regularly floats onto parked cars nearby.

Some people have conducted their own lab reports.

Pressure is now mounting on the authorities to act - and to throw out an upcoming licence review for the factory - following the public meeting.

Among those demanding action were members of the Leeds Road Hindu temple.

They have submitted a letter to Bradford Council highlighting the "intolerable" situation and "foul smell" which they said visiting dignitaries had commented on.

'Fishy, meaty'

A Change.org petition has doubled its signatures since the meeting.

Businessman Ummer Daraz, who has an office nearby, has been spearheading the growing campaign and is now seeking legal advice and gathering environmental evidence.

With regeneration projects like a new city centre railway station in the pipeline, he said tackling the matter was even more urgent.

"Can you imagine people coming off the train and being hit by this fishy, meaty, horrible stench?" he said.

He recalled that when he lived in the area himself "it was so overwhelming it gave me physical convulsions".

About 60 people in total attended a public meeting to urge action, organised by Ummer Daraz (standing, with microphone)

The plant has been operating since 1947 and was previously an abattoir.

It holds a Defra (department for environment, food and rural affairs) category 1 rendering licence, allowing it to process diseased animal remains.

Director Alistair Collins said: "Facilities like ours play a vital role in making livestock production sustainable and in preventing animal disease outbreaks.

"We convert material not suitable for food into safe, reusable resources such as biofuels."

He said the factory uses modern technology compliant with current Bat (best available techniques) standards, adding: "The installation is regularly inspected by environmental health officers from [the council] and we work with them constructively to ensure compliant operations."

The factory operates under the Environmental Permitting Regulations 2016, enforced by Bradford Council to control pollution and odour.

However objectors - some from within Bradford Council - said such a facility, one of 26 across the country, had no place in a densely populated area.

A council committee last year made recommendations including lobbying Defra to accelerate new odour standards and commissioning an independent health impact study.

The rear window of a car showing residue which the owner - a businessman living near the Waddingtons plant - claims came from the factory

When asked for a comment, a council spokesperson said: "An investigation is currently ongoing into Waddingtons which has not concluded, therefore we are unable to comment at this time."

However Imran Khan, the council's deputy leader, and Rizwana Jamil, its former environment scrutiny board chair, were both at the public meeting at Laisterdyke Community Centre on Saturday where they faced a barrage of questions.

Councillor Khan said: "There's no denying there is a problem.

"There is a foul stench and there are perceived health issues as well.

"Quite frankly, it can't be allowed to continue."

He added the plant was run "based on legislation developed 20 years ago which hasn't been updated".

He said: "I understand it is in the process of being updated now.

"We are trying to feed into that process to reflect the needs of people and businesses around it.

"We've not had the legal power to be able to do more with it up to now."

Many of those at the meeting said "enough is enough" - especially with Bradford in its City of Culture year and a flagship festival celebrating the vibrant wider Leeds Road area due at the end of August.

Tariq Mahmood, who runs the Mahmood's burger shop near the factory, said: "Our business attracts people from outside and we are investing a lot of money into the area.

"It reflects really negatively on us as a city."

Listen to highlights from West Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, catch up with the latest episode of Look North.