A north-east pig farmer has been praised for helping to control the pong coming from his land.
Sandy Howie, of Baluss Farm near Mintlaw, has attracted year’s of complaints from neighbours upset by the smell of slurry coming from his business.
In October, Aberdeenshire Council issued an abatement notice to try and contain the situation.
Now Mr Howie’s co-operation with the local authority appears to have paid off.
Local councillor Jim Ingram, who took part in a liaison meeting with Mr Howie and residents earlier this year, said: “According to the comments I’m getting from people in that section of Mintlaw, it seems to have improved to some extent.
“It’s about getting it to a stage when it’s acceptable, because we do live in the country and there will be smells. Of course every occurrence is undesirable. When the wind is in
different directions you get smells from different sources.”
Mr Ingram added: “He’s been cooperative and I would say he’s as desperate to get an acceptable solution as anyone else.”
Mr Howie – former chairman of Scottish Pig Producers – said: “An independent environmental specialist has been up and audited the place. That report’s available online and shows that we’ve gone above and beyond the call of duty.
“If you live next to a farm, you must surely expect some farm smell at some point.”
He added: “There’s not much more I can do about it.”
A spokesman for Aberdeenshire Council said: “We recently commissioned consultants to survey the farm, who found best practice in the way it is run.
“As no areas for improvement were identified, no further enforcement action can be taken at this stage, but we are asking local residents to record any further problems in a survey on our website to try to identify the specific source of the odour in order to determine improvement works.
“We will continue to work with the farmer and local community in order to resolve this matter.”
However, some residents are continuing to raise objection to the pong.
Margaret Alexander, who lives on a nearby property in Mintlaw, said: “The effects of pollution originating from the pig slurry tank still imposes restrictions upon our daily life.
“We do not know if this nauseating stench will ever be contained, or continue to be a nuisance to future owners of this domestic property.”
Residents have been urged to record any further problems on the local authority’s website.