Irate residents of ritzy Brisbane suburb Newstead demand a solution to horrendous stench likened to ‘decaying bodies’ that has plagued the postcode for six years
Residents and businesses in an upmarket inner suburb say a smell that has lingered for almost six years, likened to ‘rotting bodies’, is affecting their lives and putting off customers.
The picturesque riverside suburb of Newstead, four kilometers north of Brisbane’s CBD, is plagued by a sewage smell that residents and business owners constantly complain about.
But despite the sometimes overwhelming stench emanating from a manhole, locals say nothing has been done to fix it.
Jeff Crawford, general manager of the Booroodabin Community and Recreation Club, known as the Boo, said the smell is ‘terrible’.
“The problem with that smell has been going on for years, we think at least five or six years, it comes and goes,” Mr Crawford told the Courier mail.
Residents and businesses in an upmarket inner suburb say a smell that has lingered for almost six years, likened to ‘rotting bodies’, is affecting their lives and putting off customers. The local Boooodabin Community and Recreation Club is pictured
He said it probably has to do with sewage underneath and some days there is no odor, but other days it is horrible.
Mr Crawford and the club, which hosts more than 26,000 social bowlers each year, want answers as to why there has been such a delay in carrying out the work.
He said it affects their business because the smell causes people to spend less time in the club or not come back for another visit.
Michelle Cull of water company Urban Utilities said the investigation into the cause of the odor was continuing.
“We are sorry to hear that some residents and businesses near Edmondstone and Breakfast Creek Roads are experiencing a change in odor at their properties and we are investigating,” she said.
‘As part of our response we are monitoring odors in the area, carrying out checks on the wastewater network and plugging two nearby maintenance holes.’
Urban Utilities wrote in January to Jayden Dietz, owner of Berlin Motor Group, who complained about the smell last November.
“Urban Utilities has completed a full investigation and found a number of issues contributing to the odor you are experiencing,” the email to Mr. Dietz said.
The company said it had identified the work that needed to be carried out and that the work would be completed within weeks.
The picturesque riverside suburb of Newstead (pictured), four kilometers north of Brisbane’s CBD, is plagued by a sewage smell that residents and business owners constantly complain about
But the smell is still there, which enrages the locals.
One of them, Dylan Riley-Burns, said on social media that he “used to live on Austin St., my god it stunk to high heaven in the summer. Like rotting bodies’.
Daily Mail Australia has contacted Urban Utilities for further comment.