RESIDENTS in Dawlish Warren are kicking up a stink about a terrible stench coming from a water treatment works.

The obnoxious smell from South West Water’s Timaru sewage treatment plant has been ongoing for several months, affecting nearby holiday parks over the summer season and residents living in the area.

One resident, former Mayor of Dawlish, Cllr Anthony James says the worsening smell has been making him ill with a sore throat, eyes and burning lips.

He said: ‘Due to the strong 24/7 smell inside and outside the house and the health issues, life is miserable.

‘The smell, which is a very strong chemical smell, is unacceptable.’

MP Martin Wrigley, who visited the area, said the smell was ‘awful’.

He said: ‘This has been going on for weeks.

‘It just hits you when you get out of the car and think have I stood in a field where a farmer is muck spreading?.

‘No, it's the sewage processing plant across the road from here and it’s really not good enough.

‘I would not want this on my holiday and residents have been complaining about this for a long time.

‘There have been some confusing responses from SWW about why this is happening and I will be taking this back to them.

‘It’s been going on for about 10 years but recently it is dreadful.’

The plant is the main water treatment works for Dawlish, Dawlish Warren and the surrounding area and was built in 2000.

Since then, the town’s population has grown considerably with more than 1,000 new homes built.

Concerns have been raised over the last decade that the treatment works did not have sufficient capacity to deal with the increasing population.

County councillor Rosie Dawson also went to experience the smell following complaints,

She said: ‘Despite numerous complaints and a complaint through the ombudsman SWW have failed to respond.

‘In 2023 they added more processing ingredient to reduce the smell but here we are again.

‘SWW has historically blamed too much rain, it being too hot and dry and the wind but have failed to put together a long term solution requiring investment.

‘This, to me, shows a total lack of willingness to listen to customers and the community.’

Lady’s Mile Holiday Park in Dawlish Warren is close to the works site and says a smell of sewage has been occurring in part of the park, forcing some visitors to leave.

Park owners claim the business has contacted SWW about the problem over a number of years but the issue continues.

South West Water has been asked to comment.

But in a response to Cllr James, the company said ‘proactive maintenance activities’ were being undertaken to ‘maintain the reliable operation’ of Timaru Sewage Treatment Works which ‘unfortunately generating some temporary odour impacts’.

He was told this work was due to have ended on September 2.

But Cllr James points out the problems have been ongoing for more than two months.