We're kicking up a legal stink in bid to beat Seafield stench

Published on Monday 12 May 2008 10:45

RESIDENTS plagued by the infamous Seafield stench are considering legal action in a bid to get the sewage plant's tanks covered.

Councillors have approved a 20 million plan which would see a series of upgrades remove about 69 per cent of the odour problem at Seafield Sewage Works.

However, campaigners and independent experts claim the measures do not go far enough because they stop short of covering the sewage tanks.

The Leith Links Residents Association today revealed that it is in talks with lawyers with a view to bringing a court action against the city council and plant owner Scottish Water for the years of suffering caused by the smells.

The 20m package of improvements will not be in place until 2011, when council officials will assess the situation again and see if the tanks should be covered.

Local MSP and Justice Secretary Kenny MacAskill today said he is pressing to see if his Government can speed up this process.

But Rob Kirkwood, a spokes-man for the residents' association, has accused Mr MacAskill and the SNP of going back on its election promises to sort out Seafield once and for all.

He said: "The council is condemning Leithers to at least another four years of smells and it will not stop there because until we have these tanks covered, then this awful stench will not be stopped.

"We have been approached by lawyers who have told us we have a very good case and are considering our position. The SNP told us they would cover the tanks, it helped get them elected here, and we are still waiting for them to deliver on their promise."

Among the proposed measures is that an "odour abatement plant" be fitted above the tanks to filter out the noxious smells. New screening and treatment equipment would be employed at the sewer entrance to the plant, and all the open channels between the different areas covered.

Covering the tanks is the most expensive option, thought to cost around 40m.

Independent sewage works expert Professor Robert Jackson said: "There are unique climatic conditions at Seafield, namely the haar, which make dispersal of smells difficult. The industry-wide practice is to cover the tanks and I am not clear why this is not being pursued for Seafield."

Scottish Water submitted its odour improvement plan to the council in April last year, just two weeks before a major breakdown saw 100 million litres of sewage released into the Forth.

The firm was then forced to revise its plans and came back with the latest version two weeks ago. Mr MacAskill said: "I can understand why the council has to take a cautious approach with this and I welcome the fact that if the first batch of measures does not work then we can proceed straight to covering the tanks.

"I have written to the minister for infrastructure to see if there is anything which can be done to speed up the timescale."

Robert Aldridge, the city's environment leader, said: "The proposals will make an enormous impact. It is not the ideal we want, it is not complete removal of the this smell, but it is a good start.

"But I can understand there will be a great deal of scepticism by people in Leith who might feel they have heard it all before."