Residents complain of nasty pong wafting over parts of Milton Keynes

They say the smell has been so strong that they've unable to open their doors or windows over the past couple of days.

The residents, who live in Newton Leys, parts of Bletchley and Newton Longville, claim the pong is coming from the Bletchley landfill site.

"The rubbish is also piled so high that the wind is just blowing it off the site, into Newton Leys," said one householder.

Another said: "The situation is unacceptable... This is harming our health and quality of life here."

But landfill operators FCC Environment have denied there is a problem, saying the site is operating "normally" with all activities remaining within the limits of the permit.

A spokesman said: " As always, concerns from local residents are taken seriously and the business works hard to minimise the impact of its activities for its neighbours. FCC Environment would like to reassure residents that now we are aware of concerns via the local media, that these will be investigated and any appropriate action will be taken swiftly."

FCC's planning permission to run the site as a landfill expires in 2022 and recently the company applied to MK Council for a 10 year extension, saying the site was not yet full.

Councillors refused the application on the grounds that the extension would be "harmful to the relative enjoyment of the community."

However, now there is fresh threat in the form of another extension bid from FCC, this time submitted to Bucks County Council.

This application is due to be considered on Thursday afternoon - and this time, it's recommended for approval.

The deadline for objections or comments is the end of today (Tuesday) and Newton Leys residents are urging people to submit their views here .

One resident said: "Enough is enough. We can not change the damage that has been already done to our environment but we can stop what is going to happen to the quality of our air in the future...We need to think about this as a community and do whatever it takes to prevent the extension of this horrible landfill side."

The landfill has been operating in Drayton Road, from a clay pit that was part of the Newton Longville brickworks, for three decades.

Throughout that time there have been numerous complaints about an unpleasant smell at times.

Residents also blame the site for a "plague of flies" that invades their homes every summer.

"Every year our estate is plagued by huge swarms of flies,” said one Newton Leys householder. “The problem is so bad that in summer months we cannot open our windows or leave our doors open as our home gets infested with them."

Labour ward councillors in MK are backing the residents, saying the landfill should be closed in 2022 and transformed into a nature reserve.

Because the council has become greener in its waste collection, it is sending less and less rubbish to landfill each year. As a result, most of the rubbish going into the Bletchley site is from outside of MK, from areas such as central Bedfordshire and even parts of London.

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