Anglian Water (AW) have appealed against the Abatement Notice issued upon them by Central Bedfordshire Council on the stench emanating from the Letchworth Water Treatment Works.
Fairfield Parish Council had been informed that AW had at the 11th hour used a legal loophole to challenge the validity of the first notice that gave them to December 28 to appeal. A second notice was then issued on the AW subsidiary responsible for the Letchworth Works.
This expired over a week ago but FPC has only just been informed that an appeal had been lodged.
The terms of the appeal are being clarified and FPC has again gone back to its own, independent, legal team for advice.
This is extremely disappointing but it underlines the need for residents to both keep and complete diaries and then produce witness statements that can be used in court at the forthcoming appeal.
MP Alistair Burt has promised to visit the site as soon as possible and will invite the CEO of AW to join him. We have to hope that this meeting happens and that on the day the wind is blowing in the right direction!
FPC members and officers of the FPRA (Fairfield Park Residents Association) recently made a further visit to the site to see progress of the preventative work. The overwhelming view was that this was being carried out on the wrong areas and that the smell was emanating from other units
We have posed several questions to CBC as to their strategy from now on as well as posing questions to our solicitors. Currently we await replies.
FPC had written to the AW CEO just prior to being told an appeal had been lodged. A copy of this letter can be downloaded from this link.
Last modified: February 3, 2017