Residents to wait until 2023 for action on plague of flies

Hundreds of residents have reported a large presence of flies in the area, even into October.

Warrington Borough Council's Environment and Transport department has told residents that they now must wait until next year for any further action or investigation to take place.

Flies have also been reported inside homes in Croft, as well as Culcheth (Image: Newsquest)

Hundreds of households in Culcheth were surveyed by residents of the area in order to compile a database of affected families and almost 700 said that a large number of flies has had a detrimental effect on their lives.

One resident reported that a disposable sticky strip had attracted nearly 50 flies in just 48 hours, for example.

A number of residents raised concerns that a large number of flies was a result of the waste disposal site at Diggle Green Farm in Culcheth, which is uncovered, as the image below shows.

The waste disposal site at Diggle Green Farm has raised the eyebrows of residents (Image: Newsquest)

A spokesperson for the farm said: "We are aware of the allegation.

"As a responsible operator, we take our environmental obligations seriously and we continue to work closely with both the Environment Agency and Local Environmental Health."

The council's environmental team said: "Currently we have no evidence that Diggle Green is the source.

"We have looked at other potential sources, for example, any fly-tipped waste, conditions of bins or natural sources.

"From this, we have not found any single source that could be causing the issue."

Warrington Borough Council also explained that the site at Diggle Green is managed by the Environment Agency, and that they conducted a joint inspection of the site.

The council said: "During our inspection, no flies were witnessed that could cause an issue. 

"The Agency has been carrying out monthly inspections to the site and since the complaints have come in, have not observed any excessive fly numbers."

Residents' fly-catchers are quickly filling up in the area (Image: Newsquest)

The environmental team added that a combination of hot summers and mild winters provide 'perfect conditions for fly numbers to increase.'

This was followed by the admission that residents now will have to wait until 2023 for any further council action: "If affected by flies next summer please report this and we will investigate. 

"As part of the investigation, we may need to visit your home and may require you to keep diary sheets to assess the levels."