A "VILE stench" that has plagued residents and businesses surrounding a sewage treatment plant could finally be tackled after upgrades were given the green light.

Southend Council approved plans for a new pumping station, centrifuge equipment, and machinery associated with sludge dewatering at Southend Sewage Works, located on Stock Road.

In August 2023, Southend Council issued Anglian Water - the company managing the sewage plant on Stock Road - an “abatement notice”, ordering them to decrease the smell from the site by October 31, 2024.

The notice followed a three-year council investigation and requested “Anglian Water Services Limited to abate and prohibit the recurrence of the smell”.

The recently approved plans state that the new sludge dewatering plant will reduce the odour from the site.

Tony Cox, leader of the Conservative Group at Southend Council, said: “The smell has been going on since I have ever lived in the city, what now 20 years.

“It has always been an issue with the smell there.

“Anything that can be done to tackle that has got to be welcomed.

“It is a step in tackling it, especially with the hot weather we have had, those smells are even worse.

“So, if that means people can now even just have windows open, that can only be a good thing.”

The application was part-retrospective as the generator building and the fuel tank building have been constructed already.

The new centrifuge equipment and machinery associated with sludge dewatering have not yet been installed.

According to the submitted planning statement, the existing sludge dewatering plant was identified as being the primary cause of the odour.

Modelling shows that the installation of the new sludge dewatering plant will subdue the smell from the site.

Daniel Cowan, leader of Southend Council, previously said during a meeting about the abatement notice, how this smell had affected residents for “quite some time”.

Anglian Water has been contacted for comment by the Echo but are yet to respond.