A planning application to increase the height of the chimney at Hills’ waste treatment centre in Westbury has sparked concern among residents and councillors.
Hills Waste Solutions has applied to raise the chimney at the Northacre Resource Recovery Centre, on Stephenson Road, from 15 metres to 27 metres. Locals say the new height would be an eyesore and are demanding reassurance that the change will help stop future occurrences of the notorious ‘Westbury whiff’ — the foul smell from the plant that has affected local residents.
The application forms part of an upgrade to the site’s biofilter system. The Northacre Mechanical Biological Treatment (MBT) facility, which opened in 2013, processes up to 90,000 tonnes of residual household waste each year, turning it into solid recovered fuel (SRF).
In 2021, the Environment Agency received around 500 complaints over a seven-month period about the “rancid” smell coming from the facility. In December 2023, Hills was issued with a warning letter for breaching its environmental permit. However, an EA investigation later concluded it was “not in the public interest” to prosecute.
Hills now says it has been working with the Environment Agency on upgrades to the plant, and the increased stack height has been identified as a way to improve pollution control.
Despite this, the plans have prompted a wave of objections. One resident wrote, “I do not think a larger stack in this beautiful area will be good. It will be an eyesore and looks like it’s due to the extra smells they are expecting. These changes should not slip in like this — if they want changes, then they should start the process again.”
Another said, “The sooner I can get my family away from Westbury the better. Who in their right mind agreed that having something so polluting on the doorstep of housing was a good idea is beyond me… Welcome to Westbury — the home of the White Horse and the eye sore and stink from Hills Waste site.”
The Northacre site is operated by Hills under a 25-year contract with Wiltshire Council. It sits next to land earmarked for Westbury’s proposed — and highly controversial — waste incinerator.
Westbury Town Council’s Highways, Planning and Development Committee discussed the plans at its meeting on Tuesday 22nd April.
Cllr Mark Bailey said, “The height increase is quite significant. It’s going from 15 metres to 27 metres, which is quite a considerable increase.”
Cllr Phil Harcourt added, “We should be trying to get reassurance that this is part of a bigger plan to reduce the odours that people in Westbury suffer from.”
Mayor Jane Russ agreed, saying Cllr Harcourt was “completely right” and asked whether the council could go back to Hills Waste to request more detail about how the changes would help tackle odour issues.
The town council agreed to object to the application and request further information on the likely impact of the changes.
Residents have until 9th May to submit comments on the Wiltshire Council planning portal. The application reference is PL/2025/03166.
