Rodbourne pong: Town's 'cheese-vomit' smell identified

Last year, resident Luke Parsons said: "It smells like someone has mixed cheese and vomit together and set it on fire"

A foul smell that plagued residents has stopped after an investigation found it came from a waste processing plant.

Numerous complaints of a "cheese-vomit" stench have been made to councillors by residents in Rodbourne and Rodbourne Cheney, Swindon, since last year.

However, an investigation by specialist firm Arup found the 'Rodbourne Pong' came from neighbouring Waterside Park.

The site is run by a Swindon Borough Council-owned company and the authority said it was assessing Arup's findings.

According to the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS), household rubbish is dried out at the plant, shredded and turned into industrial fuel.

'Set it on fire'

Last year, resident Luke Parsons said: "It smells like someone has mixed cheese and vomit together and set it on fire."

Councillor Kevin Parry, the council's cabinet member for service delivery, waste and transport, said: "We have received an initial update from the company leading the investigation into the 'Rodbourne Pong' and that early assessment suggested the smell was coming from the Solid Recovered Fuel (SRF) plant at our Household Waste Recycling Centre site.

"We are currently reviewing the detail of an initial draft report following the investigation to assess any actions we may need to consider in the wake of all the company's findings so it would not be appropriate to comment further at this time."

The Environment Agency had not been able to single out the source of the smell.

The council subsequently agreed to fund specialist company Arup to carry out their investigation.