Residents of Heron Street in Swinton describe their tight-knit neighbourhood as 'a community of curtain-twitchers', where people chat on front porches and foster decades-long friendships. But they say the recycling plant at the bottom of their road has plagued them with noise, bad smells, and rat and seagull infestations for years. The company, Fresh Start Waste, denies it is the source of any of these issues.
Earlier this month, the recycling site received planning permission from the council to erect a huge new outbuilding. Now the firm has put an application into the Environmental Health Agency to double the amount of waste it processes - from 75,000 tonnes to 150,000 tonnes.
Residents describe unbearable smell and rats
Carol Roscoe, 71, a semi-retired shopworker who has lived in the area all her life, told the Local Democracy Reporting Service: "When there's a heat wave, like there's been all summer, this house becomes like a prison. The smell is just… I can't let the grandkids play outside, it's that awful. It's such a lovely community, but this is ruining everything."
Other residents describe a 'vinegary, acrid, pungent smell' that wafts towards the street at unpredictable times throughout the day. Julie Hall, 53, another long-term resident, said: "The smell just makes me heave, I can't describe it."
Derek Williamson, 74, a retired photoprinter, described how he discovered rats had infiltrated his home. "I bought a big box of chocolates and had them sitting in a bowl downstairs," he said. "Then one morning I walk down, and half of them are gone. I thought it was just my (adult) son being greedy at first, but he swore it wasn't him. Then we found all the wrappers between the floorboards - and called the ratcatchers out."
Derek has had five visits from pest control, he says, but they're still fighting to get rid of them. "We hear them downstairs when we're in bed," he said. "We don't go downstairs at night because we're scared of seeing them. We have to make sure everything is washed up and put away so the rats can't get to them. I've had to put traps out - the squealing is really horrible, but we can't let them just run around the house."
Seagulls and noise add to residents' woes
Others point to rows of seagulls lined up on the roof of the recycling site's partially-covered shed. The neighbourhood often 'sounds like the seaside', according to neighbours, and the seagulls aren't shy of swooping down on its residents.
Linda Hall, 74, another pensioner who has lived on the street for decades, said: "It's everything. The smell, the seagulls, the rats. Everybody chats to each other on this street, and we'll often have a natter on our doorsteps. But then a waft of that smell comes in and we all go in because it's so awful. Meanwhile, my dog keeps killing rats in my garden."
Most of the residents that spoke to the LDRS have lived on the street for around four decades. The recycling centre started operating in 2010, and applied for retrospective planning permission to be used as a waste processing site in 2015. At the time, neighbours opposed the granting of permission out of concern for pests and smells.
Officers recommended the application for approval, stating it 'would play a positive role in meeting the waste management objectives of the area' and that 'sufficient controls exists to ensure no significant harm will arise to neighbouring occupiers'. But many of the neighbours feel that hasn't been the case - and complaints to the council and environmental agency have fallen on deaf ears.
The planning permission also permitted the use of the site 24 hours a day Monday to Friday, and 4am to 6pm on the weekends. The noise of massive container lorries rattling down the potholed access route on the neighbouring Hilton Square road in the early hours of the day is another source of contention.
Elizabeth Daley's daughter and her newborn baby were living with their mum on Heron Street - but after weeks of being woken up from precious sleep at 4am, the noise became unbearable. "My daughter and her baby just moved out because it's so bad. It's too noisy with all the big rubbish lorries driving past," the 65-year-old retired school administrator said. Others described how they'd had to rearrange their homes - moving their bedrooms to the back of the house, avoiding certain rooms. And there are worries that when Fresh Start doubles the amount of waste they process, the problem will become even more pronounced.
Company responds to concerns
The firm says its proposed operating hours under its new license will be 4am to 7pm on weekdays, 7am to 5pm on Saturdays and it doesn't operate Sundays, with processing not beginning on site until 6am.
Ben Entwistle, senior operations leader at Fresh Start Waste, said: "We take residents' concerns seriously and will investigate any specific issues that are reported to us. We have received one noise complaint in the past year, relating to the use of a bird scarer. Following that complaint, we changed our procedures and restricted its use to between 8am and 6pm.
"Following concerns raised in the media about rodents in the area, we increased the frequency of independent pest-control visits at and around our site. Those inspections have not identified evidence of an infestation originating from our site. We will continue to monitor this closely.
"We have also strengthened odour controls at Unit 3, the building closest to neighbouring properties, including additional deodorising equipment, and have arranged for the roads around the site to be swept twice each week.
"It is also important to clarify that an environmental permit allowing up to 150,000 tonnes does not mean the amount of waste handled at the site will suddenly double. It provides an upper permitted capacity for the operation and remains subject to the controls and conditions set by the Environment Agency.
"The redevelopment of the site is intended to further improve how the operation is managed, with more activity taking place within purpose-designed buildings and additional measures to control noise, odour and other potential impacts on neighbouring properties.
"We remain happy to investigate any specific concerns raised by residents and would encourage these to be reported to us when they occur so that we have the opportunity to investigate them properly."
An Environment Agency spokesperson said: "We hear the concerns of the local community and are taking them and the results of a public consultation into account to reach a final decision about Fresh Water Waste Services' application to expand its waste output. As part of the application process, we are carrying out a thorough technical assessment of the site and will continue to regulate it under its current environmental permit."
A Salford City Council Spokesperson said: "We understand the concerns raised by residents and recognise the impact that issues such as noise, odour and pests can have. The Environment Agency is the regulatory authority responsible for the environmental permit for the waste operation and for determining any application to vary that permit. Our Regulatory Services team work with the Environment Agency and other relevant agencies to ensure issues being reported by residents are shared, properly considered and investigated."
