Monitors to check emissions from Chirk factory

Chirk Environmental Liaison Committee has won a promise that four dust monitors will be sited across the town to assess air quality in the area close to wood panel manufacturer Kronospan.

The monitors will be checked every fortnight at an independent laboratory.

Residents have complained for decades about the dust from the Kronospan factory. Earlier this month children from Chirk Primary School were unable to play outside after it blew on to the playground.

Local people have said cars, washing and garden furniture are often affected.

A spokeswoman for Kronospan said that the company did not want to comment, and it is not yet known where the monitors will be placed around the town.

Councillor David Kelly, of Wrexham County Borough Council, said: "The liaison committee agreed to the initial monitoring proposal in principle.

"As a result relevant partners, including Wrexham County Borough Council, Natural Resource Wales and Public Health Wales, are currently finalising the detail of the air quality monitoring protocol. This will be ratified by Chirk Environmental Liaison Committee."

Jackie Allen, chairman of Chirk Town Council, said Kronospan was making a concerted effort to make improvements including the creation of underground dust silos to reduce the impact of emissions.

"The work going on at the site will hopefully make a tremendous amount of difference to the dust problems."

Councillors Terry Evans and Ian Roberts, from Wrexham council, have been working for many years to get environmental improvements.

"You only have to see the dust to know that there is a problem," Councillor Evans said. "But the dust monitors are definitely a first step to improvements."

"Things can't change overnight but I welcome the fact that we seem to be going in the right direction."

He said that the plume rising from the Kronospan factory at 6.20am yesterday morning had been rising high up into the atmosphere.

"If they could achieve this all the time no one would complain," he said.

But he added that by 6.50am the plume was no longer straight and was dirty in colour.