THE council has confirmed that it is “still working on securing a date” for a special meeting on the ‘foul smell from Warrenpoint Port’.
In October, the local authority unanimously adopted a notice of motion on this issue – tabled by independent Crotlieve councillor Mark Gibbons – that called for the arranging of such a meeting, and for a number of stakeholders to be invited to it.
This included representatives from Warrenpoint Harbour Authority (WHA), Re-Gen Waste, the council’s Environmental Health Department and the Northern Ireland Environment Agency.
The motion voiced concern about ‘the ongoing foul smell emanating from Warrenpoint Port, the impact this is having on residents’ quality of life, and the potential risk it poses to public health’.
When contacted for an update on when the special meeting will be held, a local authority spokesperson said: “I can advise that we are still working on securing a date for the meeting.
“Depending on availability of all parties involved, it may be in the New Year.”
She added that once a date has been secured, the press will be notified via the normal council procedure.
In August, WHA apologised for the odour, and confirmed that it was being caused by household rubbish being recycled by Re-Gen.
A protest was held at the town dock that month, and a public meeting was held in September.
A further public meeting, organised by ‘Rotten to the Point’, will be held in Warrenpoint Town Hall tomorrow (Thursday) evening at 7pm.
South Down Alliance MLA Patrick Brown said that he continues to be inundated with contacts from “concerned constituents having to live with the awful smell coming from Warrenpoint Port”, and that he looks forward to engaging with them further on the matter at tomorrow’s meeting.
“It is clear that the colder weather has not dented the severity of the smell, and this continues to be a long- term, year-round issue that requires a sufficient long-term solution,” he added.
“Ahead of Thursday’s public meeting, I have written to Re-Gen and WHA to request a meeting with myself and some residents worst affected by the smell, and I am awaiting a reply.
“I would be highly disappointed if this meeting request is not taken up, as I believe it would be an important opportunity to put some questions to Re-Gen, in particular, regarding how we can solve this issue.
“I also understand the independent environmental investigation report, called for by the council, is well under way, and WHA is asking affected residents to contact them directly to feed into this report.
“I would highly encourage residents to do this, and look forward to engaging with them further about the issue on Thursday.