As a resident of Aycliffe Village I’ve become immune to the occasional pong from the waste water treatment plant. However, this summer the smell got progressively worse. One day I was forced out of my garden and had to close all windows and doors.
We normally only get a slight whiff of effluent if the prevailing east wind is absent, combined with previous heavy rain. That week had been warm, very dry and there was only a slight breeze albeit from the north west. Puzzled, I decided to investigate so I cycled to the sewerage-works. The smell was present but no stronger so the plant was not the source. It didn’t take me long to track down the culprit. All I had to do was follow my nose. Heading west across the Business Park the malodour grew in strength. By the time I reached Whinbank Road my eyes were watering. The smell had become a gag inducing stench. I could even taste it!
I have since discovered that Emerald Biogas constantly discharge this assault on the olfactory system and that wind direction determines which locals are victims.
Imagine my horror on seeing the news this morning! A Biogas plant, that looks identical to the one in Aycliffe, turned into a scene from Dante’s Inferno by a single lightning strike. Unlike the, rurally located, one in Oxfordshire, Aycliffe’s own tinderbox is within a few hundred meters of, no less than, three COMAH sites. Supplied an ignition source, might this be the first domino of a catastrophic effect? No doubt GATC, in their wisdom, will be planning a major firework display in this Devils hectare.
Thank goodness for prevailing easterlies. That said, I’ll keep an eye on the forecast for the first weekend in November. Given a west wind, I’ll be spending my bonfire night well away from the village.
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