'Westbury Whiff' waste plant should be shut, says MP

An MP has called for a waste plant behind complaints about a "whiff" smell to be closed down.

Dr Andrew Murrison, the Conservative MP for South West Wiltshire, said he sympathised with residents near the Westbury plant who said they had to keep windows closed and avoid their gardens during recent heatwaves, because of the smell.

Dubbed the "Westbury Whiff, the smell has been traced to the Mechanical Biological Treatment (MBT) plant at Northacre, run by Hills Waste Solutions.

The site on Stephenson Road takes in black bin waste for Wiltshire Council who said "terminating the contract early has been actively considered" but the costs were "simply unaffordable".

Murrison said: "My constituents have put up with this for too long... the inability to open your windows and enjoy your gardens".

Around 60,000 tonnes of household waste from Wiltshire is sent to Northacre MBT every year. It turns waste into solid recovered fuel that can then be used by renewable energy plants to generate power.

The Environment Agency has invited concerned residents to a public drop-in meeting on Monday evening at The Laverton, in Bratton Road, Westbury.

Hills Waste Solutions (HWS) declined to reply to the comments made by Murrison, but said "more information in relation to the Northacre MBT will be available at the drop-in event on Monday 17 August".

The agency threatened HWS with legal action over the smells which prompted 275 complaints in 2025.

Naomi Grace, who lives in Westbury, said of the smells: "It's so bad its given me migraines.

"It's pretty unpleasant not to be able to open your windows. I worry that nobody seems to care about Westbury, we seem to fall into the gaps."

Hills Waste Solutions are in a 25-year-contract with Wiltshire Council to process household waste.

Paul Sample, the council's cabinet member for environment, climate and waste, said they are looking to "vary the existing contract" once the council starts collecting food waste from August 2027, meaning food would no longer be processed at the MBT.

"The potential for odours affecting the local community would significantly reduce", he added.

Until then, the smell continues.

Local resident Eva Theophil called the smell "disgusting" and one that had been reported for "years and years", yet "nothing has happened".

"I've just warned my friend not to buy a house here because of the smell," she added.

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