Residents invited to sewage site meeting

Representatives of Yorkshire Water, including technicians and engineers, will be on hand at Hedon Town Hall on Wednesday to answer questions about the works at Saltend.

Residents in Hedon and surrounding villages have complained for more than a decade about smells from the site, which get worse in summer and which even the company described as “deeply unpleasant”.

The plant is one of the biggest of its kind in Europe and treats 40 million gallons of waste water every day, including a complex mix of trade effluent, before discharging the water into the Humber.

The firm is spending £3.5m a new hi-tech odour control unit, which is due to be completed in December.

The drop-in session, which takes place between 3pm and 8pm, was requested by East Riding councillors John Dennis and Mike Bryan.

Coun Dennis said: “I’m delighted to see that Yorkshire Water have responded positively to East Riding councillors’ requests for them to hold the drop-in and I sincerely hope everyone who has been affected by the problem turns up at Hedon Town Hall on Wednesday and gives them some stick.”

He added: “Summer 2011 has been a write-off as far as many of us are concerned and it is not acceptable that the organisation that produced the smell should be allowed to get away with it, without at least facing those people most affected by their actions.”

A spokesman for Yorkshire Water said: “It’s about engaging with people and having that dialogue. Clearly there are some concerns and this is an opportunity to meet residents face to face, listen to those concerns, try and address them and give them an update on how the work is progressing, because it is progressing.”