SMELLS coming from a poultry unit made nearby residents feel sick and depressed.
The property’s occupier was also left a bit under the weather after it was hit with a £50,000 ‘bill’ by Lincoln Magistrates.
People living close to the unit in Kirkby on Bain, Woodhall Spa, told Environment Agency officers they often had to stay indoors to avoid the strong smells, were unable to have visitors round and suffered from dry throats.
Moy Park Ltd, the company responsible for the site, was convicted after a nine-day trial of two charges of breaching its environmental permit conditions over 18 months and fined a total of £10,000. It was also ordered to pay Environment Agency costs of £42,500.
From 2008 to 2011, 94 complaints of smells were made and numerous letters were exchanged between agency officials and Moy Park notifying the company of the problems with odours and highlighting the need to make changes.
District Judge Stobart said Moy Park had made a genuine attempt to find a solution and a reduction in the number of birds had improved matters marginally. But for economic reasons Moy Park did not take this step initially. He said they preferred to try to mask the smell while maximising profit.
