Hillingdon Council, finally responded to the petition on 15th August 2018. The petition was received by the council at a time (22nd January 2018), when FM Conway was being subjected to action relating to breaches of it's permit.  The council's independent environmental inspector, identified concerns about operations, in particular drying operations and the type of fuels being used. FM Conway rectified some breaches at the time and shut down during April of this year, for detailed improvement works. The council was satisfied after remediation work, that the plant was operating within air quality limits and was taking no further action in relation to the petition.

It is disappointing that the council chose not to hear the petition at a council meeting, despite having over 2000 supporters.

Ealing Council's Air Quality Officer, John Freeman admitted at the Air Quality Scrutiny Panel on 27th September 2018 that:

‘Odours produce symptoms’ 'Complaint frequency has dropped ’This was evidence enough for John that Conway is no longer a problem.‘We did not anticipate the level of odorous emissions as we might have done’.‘There was a lack of scrutiny on Ealing Council’s part’.

Local supporters may be aware, that Southall Waterside is a significant polluter in the area and it is fair to say that some of the complaints about odour attributed to FM Conway, may actually have emanated from soil remediation works, which produce VOCs in common with asphalt production at FM Conway. There is a petition about Southall Waterside which you can find by searching for Clean Air for Southall.

Please continue to report any odour that you believe to be coming from FM Conway to Hillingdon council, who will analyse wind data to identify the likely source.