IMPROVEMENT works have been completed at a Barrow waste water treatment site which left residents plagued by foul smells.

The site, owned by United Utilities, has been at the centre of complaints from the Roose community due to smells emanating from the site.

In August, a United Utilities spokesman told The Mail they had plans in place to replace the roller shutter door on the sludge loading bay with a more robust system as well as a number of additional odour control measures that had been put in place until the work was complete, including an odour suppressant, an air curtain and a spray bar system.

They have now confirmed they have completed improvement work on the odour extraction unit, among other measures.

A spokesman for United Utilities said: “We apologise to local residents affected by odours from our treatment works in Barrow and are doing everything we can to resolve this issue.

“We have completed improvement work on the odour extraction unit and have introduced additional measures on this site which we believe will help resolve the situation.”

Pleased with the response from United Utilities, Roosecote councillor Jay Zaccarini said: "Up to this point I think it's fair to say United Utilities have been very open about the issues in regards to the smell and odours that have been emitted over the past few years, if not longer.

"Co-operation has been good between them, myself, and also my colleagues, including a site visit which really helped understand the real challenges they face in running such a site and also helped to show they do have procedures in place to reduce the smell.

"As of late we have still had some complaints but not as many as usual however this could be down to the cold weather which does seem to affect the area less when it comes to smells from the site.

"Hopefully now this work has been completed residents will see a reduction in the smell produced from the site and I thank them for their co-operation and hard work to get this resolved."