PEOPLE living near the Hills Waste Resource Recovery Centre in Westbury say that Environment Agency enforcement action has come too late to save their summer.

The site was found to be the source of the Westbury 'pong' which has blighted the lives of hundreds of residents living nearby during the past few weeks.

Rebecca Kirk, of the Environment Agency, said they had received "quite a few" complaints from people living in the area.

She said that staff had taken a while to identify the source of the 'pong' after visiting the area several times.

"It took us a while to confirm that it was coming from this particular site and we have been able to take enforcement action against them."

But Westbury town councillor Janet Parker, who lives in Storridge Road close to the Resource Recovery Centre, said the Environment Agency should have acted sooner.

"It has taken too long for them to do something about it. They should have done that months ago," she said.

Local MP Dr Andrew Murrison welcomed the Environment Agency’s announcement that Hills Waste, having breached its permit conditions at its smelly rubbish site in Westbury, has been served a legal enforcement notice.

The site on the Northacre Industrial Estate is next to the location where Northacre Renewable Energy Ltd, which is jointly owned by the Swindon-based Hills Group and Bioenergy Infrastructure Ltd, wants to build a £200 million energy-from-waste incinerator.

Dr Murrison said: “If Hills can’t operate its existing waste site properly what hope is there that toxins from its proposed incinerator won’t also leak just like its stink that’s been afflicting my Westbury constituents for weeks on end?

“I’m truly appalled at the laid back attitude the company has adopted and fully support the Environment Agency in its enforcement action.

"I have written to the Agency to express my hope that, if the incinerator ends up being foisted on Westbury, it will use Hills’ poor record as justification for applying the most stringent controls on its operations."

Hills Group is fitting new bio filtration units to the systems at the centre to reduce the strong odours, which locals have described as "horrid" and have forced them to keep windows closed.