Leo Group meets with Penrith residents as odour complaints rise

The Environment Agency has confirmed that they received more complaints in July than in June regarding the so-called ‘Penrith Pong’, said to come from the Omega Proteins factory in the town.

223 complaints were received in June by the Environment Agency, which they said were regarding the Omega Proteins factory in particular, with the figure rising to 334 last month.

However, they said that 11 of these complaints are as yet unconfirmed to be about the factory.

A spokesperson from the Environment Agency said: "Following increased reports of odours from Omega Proteins, our officers have been carrying out increased monitoring and visits of the site to determine the source of the smell and make clear that the company must take action to address any issues which could be leading to this.

"Our investigations into the source are ongoing and we continue to encourage members of the public to share any concerns or new reports with us."

Leo Group, which oversees the factory that renders animal parts, held a public liaison meeting with residents to hear concerns about it on August 2.

The meeting followed a separate gathering last month held by leader of the 'Fresh Air for Penrith' campaign, Jeff Thomson, who has been campaigning for the factory to cut down on emissions since 2019.

A councillor on Penrith Town Council, he attended the Leo Group meeting in this capacity, being invited alongside other councillors despite, he says, being otherwise strictly not allowed to set foot on their land in relation to trespass.

The meeting was addressed by Danny Sawrij of Leo Group, who represented his company while delivering assurances to the residents with concerns ranging from not being able to hang washing out to 'concerns about mental health'.

Danny Sawrij at the meeting on August 2 (Image: Supplied)

Cllr Thomson said: "There were residents' calls for the company to move after residents voiced concerns about the continued odour nuisance.

"It was obvious local residents, particularly those of Penrith West, including Castletown, have had enough of the odour and enough of the company excuses.

"Residents want to know when the odour will stop."

He also questioned the presence of company staff among the residents and councillors in the meeting - but Leo Group said that they were only there to answer questions and that just two company staff spoke during the proceedings.

A Leo Group spokesperson suggested the company is stepping up its engagement with the community. "We have agreed to respond to any complaint received by our odour hotline in the future with our findings," they said.

"We have also mutually agreed to hold more community liaison meetings. The next one is already scheduled for approximately two months' time."

The company also asked the public to make better use of its own 'odour hotline'.

"In July we unfortunately only received 36 complaints via our own odour hotline," they said. "However, we ask everyone to also call our hotline (07976 857 435) when they call the Environment Agency as we are able to come out quickly to respond to a complaint. If our factory is the likely cause, we can immediately report to the site for them to investigate root causes and quickly rectify issues. 

"All complaints reported to the EA will be investigated by them as necessary.

"However, we would also like to point out that not all odour complaints reported to the Environment Agency could be linked to Omega Proteins."