Here’s why there’s been a high pitched noise in Seafield and Leith

The noise has been annoying residents in the Seafield and Leith areas. Pictures: Lincoln Beddoe/ Lenar Musin - Shutterstock and Google Maps

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Residents have been complaining of a high pitched noise coming from somewhere in the Seafield area of the city over the past couple of days.

A few have even said they’ve been unable to sleep because of it.

But rest assured, the source of the noise has now been identified...

An Edinburgh City Council spokeswoman has confirmed the noise is coming from the Seafield Waste Water Treatment plant, which is operated by Veolia Water UK on behalf of Scottish Water.

The spokeswoman said they are currently working with Scottish Water and Veolia to pinpoint and fix the problem.

A Veolia spokesman said: “Veolia is working with City of Edinburgh Council and a team of specialist engineers to identify the source of the intermittent noise reported in the nearby community.

“Our investigation is focusing on the compressor units at the Primary Settlement Tanks. Once the exact source of the noise is identified, we will carry out work to address the noise.

“We apologise for any inconvenience this matter may have caused to local residents.”

Several residents have taken to social media to voice their concerns, with Peter Keenan asking if anyone knew where the noise was coming from as he “barely slept all weekend” because of it.

One resident, Anjila Wilson, said she was up twice last night because of it.

Another, Sally Millar, said anyone who hears it should report it to the authorities.

And Mary Graham said: “Sewage works. It’s usually not so constant. It’s annoying when I’m at allotment at Claremont Park. Would hate to be living close to there.”

It is understood a similar high pitched noise emanating from the sewage works has caused annoyance for local residents in the past.

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