The ‘hot Weetabix’ smell is causing problems for those living nearby (Picture: SWNS)
People living near a brewery have complained that it smells so bad they can’t even sit in their own gardens.
The ‘yeasty, sickly’ smell is so rank they have to keep their windows closed, residents near the company in Kent say.
Several said it smells ‘abhorrent’, but one neighbour compared it to a comforting smell of ‘hot Weetabix’.
The brewery, on Northdown Industrial Estate in Broadstairs, has now been ordered to carry out an odour assessment by Thanet Council.
Bosses at South East Bottling say that residents and the council need to compromise – with the managing director saying he actually finds the smell ‘quite pleasant’.
Marion Langelier, 82, said: ‘When it smells it interferes with my leisure time. If the wind isn’t blowing it lingers. It’s like a malty sort of smell.’
South East Bottling is at Northdown Industrial Estate in Broadstairs (Picture: Kent Online/SWNS)
Fellow neighbout Matt Walters, 55, said: ‘If the wind is bad, it’s really sickly – you can smell it all the way up the road.
‘I know it’s a local business and I want them to do well – but not at this cost.’
Some also complained about noise coming from the brewery, saying bins can be heard banging and crashing.
South East Bottling submitted a retrospective planning application to install a flue on the property, and a condition to provide an independent smell analysis was imposed.
The brewery tried to have the condition removed as it was ‘unnecessarily costly’, but the council refused.
Working with brands such as Old Dairy and Tiny Rebel, the brewery says it is ‘unfortunate that in current times, local residents and the council choose to operate in an anti-business manner’.
They said working hours had been restricted so the flue was only used once or twice a day, to a maximum of 10 times per week.
The smell comes out from a flue at the brewery (Picture: Kent Online/SWNS)
Despite complaints, some said they did not mind the stench, with Chris Prentice, 49, saying: ‘I would describe it as like hot Weetabix. It’s nice.’
Managing director Duncan Sambrook said the only way to completely stop the smell would be to use a vapour heat recovery system which costs anywhere from £2,000 to £7,000.
The small business says this would be ‘extremely expensive’ while they are still recovering from Covid.
Mr. Sambrook said: ‘We are sorry that some local residents find the smell repulsive. I actually find it very pleasant.
‘We have had an ongoing dialogue with the council, but unfortunately our neighbours have chosen not to engage directly with us, instead preferring to raise complaints through the council.
‘We have, at our own cost, addressed a large element of the initial concerns, and we do not consider that it is unreasonable for us to be able to operate a flue without restrictions during weekdays between the short windows of operation.’
A spokesperson for Thanet District Council said it fully supports local businesses, but ‘must balance this with its duty to ensure that regulations are adhered to, safeguarding residents and the environment’.
They added: ‘As this is an ongoing investigation involving both environmental health and planning enforcement, we are unable to comment further.’
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