Swindon Council criticised over foul pong inquiry delay

Residents described the smell as "like someone has mixed cheese and vomit together and set it on fire"

A council has been criticised for the length of time it took to get to the bottom of a notorious foul "pong".

The Rodbourne Pong was described as a "cheese and vomit" stench, that plagued residents in Rodbourne and Rodbourne Cheney, Swindon, since 2018.

A report released in spring last year said the problem was the solid waste recovery plant at Waterside Park.

Swindon's cabinet member for waste management said the council acted as soon as it could.

Councillor Kevin Parry was speaking after Rodbourne Cheney councillor Jim Grant invited him to apologise to residents who were affected by the smell from the plant, which is run by a Swindon Borough Council-owned company.

Mr Parry told the council's scrutiny committee: "I'm sorry for those residents who were affected by this. But as soon as we became aware of it, we took action."

'Treated with contempt'

Mr Grant highlighted the issue had been going on from 2018: "Residents were not able to open their windows in the summer, one was physically sick because the smell was so bad. But it was years before the council did anything about it," he said.

Since the smell first began, the Environment Agency had not been able to single out its source. The council subsequently agreed to fund specialist company Arup to carry out an investigation.

"Arup has been around for a long time," Mr Grant added. "The council could have asked the company to investigate earlier.

"The people of Rodbourne Cheney and Moredon, who were most affected by the smell, have been treated with contempt."

Rubbish stored at Waterside park has been identified as the source of the Rodbourne Pong

But Mr Parry said that was not his recollection: "As soon as the council was made aware of the problem we took action and commissioned Arup to investigate.

'Sniffing the air'

"Once their report identified Waterside Park as the source, we took action and the issue has now been resolved."

Swindon Borough Council's scrutiny committee requested a report into the pong and air quality in general from the Conservative-led council in October 2020, following reports of the stench, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

In summer 2021, the council then commissioned Arup to conduct their investigation, which the company did using 'sniff tests', which involved people sniffing the air.

Its report was released in May 2022, identifying the problem as coming from the solid waste recovery plant, operated by the council's company Public Power Solutions, which dried rubbish and minced it to make industrial fuel.

That operation ceased last year, because of a contract change, and the smell has stopped.