Fish plant smell worries Woolston residents

Press, 2 May 1984, Page 7

Fish plant smell worries Woolston residents

Residents near Staunton Street in Woolston believe a fish meal plant in the street is the source of an offensive smell. The plant, owned by Independent Fisheries, Ltd, is the subject of a petitionsigned by 286 people to the Christchurch City Council. Mrs B. Anderson, who used to live next door to the plant in Staunton Street, told the council’s community services and health committee yesterday that the plant was in her opinion, without a doubt, the source of the smell. The plant was built in 1980 and the council has received several complaints about smell since. Many of the early complaints that had been made

shortly after the plant’s completion had been justified, the city health inspector, Mr A. P. Millthorpe, reported. Work done last September, however, had proved satisfactory in limiting the smell that emanated. No complaints had been received between October and January, he said. Since January the complaints that had been received had been largely from the two main presenters of the petition, who had also been responsible for 49 of the previous 98 complaints made since the plant had opened. Mrs Anderson told the committee that the smell covered a large area around the factory and was held in

the area by the Port Hills and sea fog. Other fish meal plants in New Zealand had been sited near the sea and had their odours carried out to sea, she said. These plants also used saltwater in their process, which the signatories of the petition had been told was the best medium to use. The Jubilee Home for the Aged was near the plant and its residents were often subjected to smell, Mrs Anderson said. The smell was worse on Fridays and Saturdays, she said. Mr Millthorpe said complaints about the odour had been investigated. There was no evidence that the offensive odours were being emitted continuously from

the plant. Control measures installed complied with the Clean Air Act and there were no grounds for legal action against the company. Recent complaints had been investigated promptly and no offensive smell detected, he said. Cr C. G. Cotton said he worked in the area and had noticed the smell. He was convinced that it came from the fish meal plant. He was also sure he would not buy a house in the area because of it. The company which owns the plant will be asked to make submissions to the committee. Further information about other such plants and control measures taken at them will also be reported to the committee.