Residents local to the Cofresh Snack Foods factory in Menzies Road have been plagued by odours coming from the site for many years.
The site began operations in 2014. It is regulated by Leicester City Council. Back in May 2017 the local MP and local councillor were in discussions with the site regarding the odour complaints which residents had reported. In April 2018 the local council served an enforcement notice on the site requiring steps to be taken to abate the odours. No further action has been taken by the local authority since that time. According to a Freedom of Information request, the site proposed to implement a wet scrubber system which was expected to achieve an 80% reduction in odours. It was expected to be up and running towards the end of 2019 – but if such a system has been implemented – it is not functioning and achieving the results expected. Odours continue and residents are desperate for these odours to stop so they can live without these odours affecting their everyday lives.
Residents have reported being unable to open their windows and doors due to the foul odour outside their homes and which, if allowed to permeate, will linger and make clothing and internal furnishings odorous. The odours can be so pungent they make residents feel physically sick.
