A factory, alleged to be the source of an ongoing odour issue, breached or failed to comply with the terms of its environmental permit 40 times in the last five years.

These breaches by Omega Proteins, an animal rendering plant in Penrith, were revealed via Freedom of Information requests submitted by the BBC to the Environment Agency (EA).

Leo Group, the parent company of the factory, said there were ‘various sources’ for the odours and it had installed ‘multiple odour abatement technologies’ at its factory.

The animal rendering plant said the breaches ranged from ‘minor compliance issues’ to serious ones.

They said: “The number of non-compliances has decreased significantly every year from 2019 to 2023, with only four recorded in 2023 and none recorded this year,” and that breaches ranged from a mid-category issue related to the failure of an oxidiser in 2020 to a minor one relating to a small spillage, all according to a report by the BBC.

Markus Campbell-Savours, the MP for Penrith and the Solway, said the so-called Penrith Pong was among the most common concerns he heard from his constituents since he won the seat this year, and that there had been a recent rise in the number of complaints.

He told the BBC: "It’s quite clear that it has been a difficult summer.

"The first thing I want is for those responsible and the Environment Agency to tell us what has gone wrong this summer and why it has been so bad."

He said he met with the EA on October 15 to ask 'what went wrong' this summer.

In 2023 there were 1,367 complaints about foul-smelling odours and so far this year there have been 845, the EA told the BBC, but these complaints related to Penrith as a whole and not only the factory

Omega Proteins said this was the total number of complaints and they had not all been substantiated by the EA.

Jeff Thomson, who runs the Fresh Air for Penrith campaign, has repeatedly called for action against the issue, and said now it’s time for the EA to act, adding that it’s increasingly frustrating for no action to be taken despite the problem being acknowledged by various authorities.

He added that the people of Penrith are becoming increasingly disillusioned with the powers that be due to repeated complaints resulting in no concrete action to stop the pong.

The EA told the BBC that following an increase in reports in August, it inspected the factory twice, but did not find that it had breached its environmental permit, and: “We undertake regular site inspections which include auditing gas emission controls.

"There is more work to be done by the operator and we are in discussion with site management on managing odours."