No bones

By Lia Bichel
THE smell of “blood and bones” is troubling many residents near Glasscocks Road.
Forty-four people signed a petition calling on the Casey Council to investigate a stench coming from north of Glasscocks Road.
Springfield Ward councillor Bob Halsall said he too had noticed the smell, which he believed came from a market garden.
“It smells like blood and bones. It’s fertiliser,” he said.
“The smell comes periodically. It is smelly for days, then goes away.”
Cr Halsall, who lives near Glasscocks Road, said he understood community concerns and believed that Casey Council was taking the appropriate steps to address them.
City of Casey councillor officers agreed to investigate the stench.
“I think that’s the first step – to investigate the smell then determine the cause of the smell,” Cr Halsall said.
“I do understand the concerns – if you hang washing out on the line and bring it in, it can stink.
“If you have a barbecue it puts you off your lunch.
“The smell has annoyed me at times.
“I have smelt it since I moved to the area 11 years ago, but I know the smell was here before I moved in.”
The petition was one of three tabled at last week’s council meeting calling on the council officers to investigate smells throughout the City of Casey.
Cr Halsall said with the municipality growing rapidly, it was inevitable that there would be unfavourable smells in the air.
“When you are building as much as we have been building, in among what were traditionally market gardens, there is going to be issues,” he said.
“When you build houses close to designated areas for waste, it would be logical to think there would be a smell.”
While he admitted the smell was bothersome, Cr Halsall said he would prefer the smell of fertiliser in the air than other less favourable stenches.
“The smell is on the same level of my teenage son’s socks,” he said.
“Actually – I think I would prefer to smell the fertiliser!”