Locals criticise 'gut-wrenching' smell from Bradford rendering plant

The plant on Hammerton Street disposes of animal parts which are not used in the food chain

Residents and businesses in part of Bradford are being blighted by a "gut-wrenching smell" from a nearby animal rendering plant, a meeting has heard.

Bosses from the Waddingtons facility appeared before councillors and local residents on Wednesday to discuss concerns over the plant and its smells.

The facility, on Hammerton Street, met required standards, the meeting heard.

Among several recommendations made by councillors was an independent investigation into the plant's impact.

'Essential part'

The Waddingtons facility dates back to the 1880s, and is one of just a handful of animal by-product processing facilities in the UK.

Animal products are transported to the site from across the country, where they are then recycled into energy and biofuels.

Waddingtons was taken over by JG Pears Group in 2020.

During the meeting of Bradford Council's Health and Environment Scrutiny Committee, Alistair Collins, JG Pears Group operations director, said sites such as his were an "essential part" of the agricultural industry.

It disposed of the parts of animals not used in the food chain and also allowed for the safe destruction of diseased animals, he said.

The owner of the nearby Pasha restaurant said the smell from the rendering plant affected people's view of Bradford

However, Amjam Saddiq, who runs the nearby Pasha restaurant, told the meeting the odours from the plant affected his business and others in the Leeds Road area.

"It influences people's mindset about Bradford, both nationally and internationally," Mr Saddiq said.

"We call ourselves city of culture. Do we want this to be the first smell visitors come across when they visit Bradford for the first time?

"You look on Tripadvisor and people comment about the smell."

Meanwhile, local resident Sonny Ahmed asked: "Is it going to be city of culture, or city of stench?"

According to the Local Democracy Reporting Service, Jeff Lawrence, Bradford Council's environmental health manager, told the meeting the current government rules for such facilities stated that as long as companies showed they were implementing the "best available techniques" to reduce odour then they were complying with their permit.

JG Pears Group had demonstrated it had the right equipment at the Hammerton Street plant to meet these standards, he said.

Mr Lawrence pointed out there had recently been a government review into the standards which could lead to tougher controls on such facilities.

However, at the moment, the Bradford plant was working "within the existing framework", he said.

A company spokesperson told the meeting plants like the Waddingtons facility were "essential" to agriculture

Asked by councillor Riaz Ahmed what would happen if the government did introduce more stringent controls, Mr Collins, from JG Pears Group, said the whole industry would need to be treated the same.

Mr Ahmed asked: "What is stopping you from making that investment now?"

Mr Collins replied: "If I had to charge more than other companies to bring materials in because our costs went up, we wouldn't be in business - people would go somewhere else."

'God-awful smell'

Councillor Imran Khan told the meeting: "The way it has come across to me is that it is a commercial decision. To keep competitive, you're not going to invest in better technologies. You can do it but it would be expensive to do.

"People are struggling to go about their lives because of this god-awful, gut-wrenching smell. It is having a massive impact on the regeneration of the city. Every business in the city centre is affected by it."

After five and a half hours of debate, the committee approved several recommendations.

Those included pushing the government to conclude its review and to commission an independent investigation, paid for by the company, to look at the impact of the plant on local residents and businesses.

It also recommended the setting up of a committee to document and discuss the number of odour incidents, how long they lasted, and the impact on people's lives.