Wallyford: 'Putrid' smell plaguing residents at new housing

They claim that the smell, which has been likened to a rotting turnip and cheese that has “gone off,” is emanating from drains on Laing Loan – part of Taylor Wimpey’s Ravensheugh development.

They say that they have been making complaints about the odour for nearly a year.

Resident Paul Finch stressed that the problem got worse in December when the smell began to “creep” into people’s houses.

He said: “We actually thought over Christmas that we had left a Camembert in the garage and it had gone off.

“That is where the smell is worst with regards to our house.

“It wasn’t until I went outside and the smell was worse I realised it was the drains.

“Our neighbours can smell it intermittently inside their house.”

'A game of hot potato'

Mr Finch claimed: “I feel the situation is like a game of hot potato between Taylor Wimpey, East Lothian Council and Scottish Water.

“I totally understand that no one wants the liability but, from my point of view, Taylor Wimpey has customers on the land and is actively trying to still sell houses on Laing Loan/Laing Park.

“It should be in their interest to pursue the responsible party for the sake of the existing customers and their marketing/brand image.

“Surely they cannot view this ongoing issue as a good advert for selling houses.

“There have been reports raised since April 2023 and we are still not in a position to know who to go to to get this fixed.”

'The sewage smell has been unbearable'

Another resident, Matthew Williams, said: “At times, the sewage smell has been unbearable, and it’s not something you expect when moving into a brand new development.

“A recent Facebook post by a neighbour made me realise that fellow residents have been complaining about this for over a year, while I’ve only moved in six months ago.

“At the moment, whenever the sun shines, we’re unable to open our windows, hang out our washing, enjoy our gardens, or allow our children to play outside due to the smell.

“I also worry about our health – it can’t be safe to be breathing in the sewage-filled air.

“Other neighbours say the smell is coming up through their internal plumbing but thankfully this isn’t happening in my property yet.

“It makes me question what I pay my council tax and water bill for if roads, drains and sewers are all privately owned in my area.”

Odour complaints

A Taylor Wimpey spokesperson said: “We are aware of the unpleasant odour at our development in Wallyford and are trying to establish if it is coming from within the development.

“We have checked all the sewers in the development which are closest to affected customers and found nothing of note during a visual inspection.

“Our next step is to carry out a CCTV inspection.

“We will update residents as our investigations progress.

“We have also asked Scottish Water to check the sewers on Futures Way, which are already adopted by them.”

A Scottish Water spokesperson said: “Scottish Water received a small number of odour complaints in this area in February.

“Our teams investigated last week but did not find any issues on the public sewer network.

“We are organising sewer cleaning and survey work on the public sewer to ensure it is operating as designed and will work with the developer to share any information.”

An East Lothian Council spokesperson said: “While the council has no remit in relation to the operation and management of the drainage system at this development, officers have looked into this matter and are liaising with Scottish Water and the developer.”