Environment Agency investigating fly infestation in Heathcote after complaints from residents and businesses

The Environment Agency is investigating swarms of flies in the Heathcote area after complaints were received from residents and businesses.

Over the last few months residents and businesses have been seeing an increase in flies – with many saying it is impacting them, their customers and businesses.

Many have been reporting the problems to the Environment Agency and Warwick and Leamington MP Matt Western has also got involved.

Mr Western said: “I wrote many weeks ago to the Environment Agency regarding the real issue so many residents and businesses in Heathcote are having with flies.

“Concerned, I visited local pubs in the area and heard the impact the worst of the situation had on them, both financially but also the impact on their customers experience whilst dining/drinking.

“Also, I have heard from several local residents who have outlined how dreadful the situation has been for them and their families.

“I am trying to get to the bottom of this. It’s crucial that the cause of the problem is established and dealt with as quickly as possible to avoid any further impact on local people and businesses.”

The Environment Agency has since responded to Mr Western’s letter and have said that they are continuing to investigate the issue and what could be causing the swarms of flies in the area.

In the letter from the Environment Agency it said: “We were first notified by Warwick District Council (WDC) of several complaints regarding large amounts of flies in this area on July 19, and have since worked with them to investigate the source of the issue.

"The most recent complaint was received on August 15.

“On July 24 we visited a newly permitted waste recycling facility in Leamington situated near to where some of the complaints have been made.

"We observed flies inside the building, however there were none outside in the metal storage areas or where a plastic pellet product was being stored.

"There were no flies in the car park of the industrial area or in the residential area opposite the site and we found no odour issues off site or outside of the site building within the permitted boundary.

“There is not enough evidence at the moment to suggest that the ongoing fly infestation is directly associated with activities of the new waste site.

"We visited the site again on August 16 and will also attend another permitted site in the area to check for other potential sources.

"Our officers will be attending the new site every one to two weeks depending on the number of complaints we receive, and we will continue to take fly counts from the site weekly to monitor the abundance of flies in the area.

“Following the visit on July 24 we shared our findings with WDC and asked them to encourage residents to report complaints directly to us so we can build a picture of where the issues are being felt and investigate them in a timely manner.

"We have also been contacting some reporters for further information that may help us locate the source.”

People are being urged by the Environment Agency to continue to report nuisance flies whenever the problem occurs by calling: 0800 80 70 60.