Writing to Bradford Council today following meetings with residents, Bradford East MP, Imran Hussain has urged the local authority to take strong action against the Waddington & Co refinery in Bradford over decades of foul odours and potential health risks.

Based off Buck Street near Bradford City Centre, the Waddington & Co animal byproduct recycling refinery has for decades blighted the lives of local residents who live around and downwind of the site, with the foul odours that are emitted forcing residents to keep their doors and windows closed whilst the site is operating, and leaving them extremely fearful of both short and long-term exposure to these foul odours.

However, despite the concerns of residents about the health risks and the misery that the exposure to these foul odours is causing to their everyday lives, both Bradford Council’s Environmental Health team and the Environment Agency have so far failed to take sufficient action to curb emissions from the Waddington & Co site, which residents now fear are getting worse in their strength, frequency and intensity.

In his letter to Bradford Council, Imran has therefore urged for a full and comprehensive investigation of the site that includes rigorous monitoring of emissions at the site and surrounding locations, and for Waddington & Co’s license to be revoked if the investigation does not provide residents with significant assurances about the safety of the emissions or enforce changes to substantially reduce the strength of the emissions.

With the UK City of Culture celebrations in Bradford next year rapidly approaching, Imran has also raised further concerns about the image of Bradford that an industrial refinery so close to Bradford City Centre and foul odours will present to the thousands of people expected to visit throughout the celebrations, and he has warned that this could be further grounds for the revocation of Waddington & Co’s license if sufficient action is not taken.

Speaking on his demand for tougher action against the Waddington refinery, Imran said:

“The Waddington & Co refinery has for years blighted the lives of many of my constituents who are almost constantly exposed to the foul odours emitted at the site, and I’m deeply alarmed that I’ve still not been provided with sufficient evidence or assurances that these worrying emissions in the middle of a densely populated area don’t pose a health risk to local people.

“This issue has already been allowed to continue for far too long, but with residents now reporting to me that they believe there’s been a recent and extremely noticeable increase in the strength and number of occurrences where they’re being exposed to emissions from the site, it’s clear that substantial action needs to be taken quickly.

“It is not right that industrial sites like the Waddington & Co refinery are based near the heart of our city centre and near built-up residential areas, regardless of the purported protections that are supposedly in place, and I’m therefore urging Bradford Council to treat this issue with the utmost seriousness, and to take swift and immediate action that delivers a lasting solution for residents within weeks, not years, which includes the revocation of Waddington & Co’s license if needed.”