Calls for MP to intervene as council accused of failed investigation into odour complaints

Local campaign group Fresh AIR for Penrith campaign has claimed Westmorland and Furness Council has failed to complete its promised investigation into odour complaints in Penrith. The group is now calling on the area's new Labour MP to take action to reassure people the town's long-running odour problem is being taken seriously.

In March 2024, Mr Thomson from the Fresh AIR for Penrith campaign group, met with Westmorland and Furness Council environmental and health officers, and received council agreement to carry out investigations into the year 2023 odour reports, to identify if any constituted a statutory nuisance. 

The results were first promised within six months, later extended to December 2024, and now Thomson says have been delayed again.

A  February 2025 update from the council, says the investigation is still ongoing. The council said in an email to Thomson : '....a comprehensive investigation is currently ongoing in cooperation with the Environment Agency. We have engaged expert counsel to provide legal guidance, and the UK Health Safety Agency is conducting an assessment of potential health impacts. A detailed review will be provided by March 2025 and we will provide you with an update'.

Mr Thomson has called on the area's new MP, Labour's Markus Campbell Savours to 'step-in'. He needs to intervene and provide the local community with assurance the odour problem is being treated seriously said Mr Thomson

"For too long, we've heard one councillor after another, one MP after another, all decry the odour pollution which affects Penrith and its residents. But, to date, not one of them has done anything about it.”

"We want the odour source identified and action taken to stop it," said Mr Thomson.

Mr Thomson served as a town councillor for a short time after the 2023 local council elections, was the elected independent west ward Penrith town councillor. "Within those short few months, I soon realised how ineffective the whole local government system is at representing local people and tackling local issues such as odour pollution," said Thomson.

A council spokesperson said:  "We can confirm that the council does have an open investigation about a complaint of odour from a local business being a statutory nuisance, and has recently taken additional expert legal advice on the matter.  We can assure the public that this investigation continues to be a priority for Westmorland and Furness Council, and a number of officers are being tasked with its progression.

"Statutory nuisance investigations are a legal process, so the council is not able to put updates in the public domain until it is complete, to do so could prejudice the outcome of the case.

"While we understand concerns about the investigation timeframe, statutory nuisance investigations vary in length, usually dependent upon the complexity of the case. This is a complex case involving a number of agencies and it is essential that a thorough investigation is carried out to allow robust evidence to be gathered in the event it is decided to pursue enforcement action. The statutory nuisance regime requires clear evidence of either prejudice to health or a nuisance, and we must ensure our investigation meets these legal requirements.

"Failing to follow due process in an investigation and not allowing the time to gather clear evidence in a robust way, by unduly rushing to a conclusion, could seriously undermine any potential future enforcement case."