THE DIRECTOR of a mozzarella factory which supports 140 dairy farmers has insisted he wants to be a good neighbour following complaints from a small number of people about noise and odour.

Steve Welch, of Dairy Partners Ltd, said acoustic barriers were installed in February to dampen the noise of liquid natural gas (LNG) deliveries at the site in Aberarad, near Newcastle Emlyn, Carmarthenshire. He said the company employed 75 people and served a growing market. “We’re expanding – that’s an indicator of our success,” he said.

Environment regulator Natural Resources Wales (NRW) had visited three months earlier, in December 2023, and found that the noise of pressurised LNG deliveries did not comply with Dairy Partners’ site permit. The NRW officer’s report said there was “an offensive and continual tonal noise originating from the direction of LNG tanker and LNG tank”, but no odour problem was detected.

NRW issued what’s known as a compliance assessment report in February this year requiring the company to take action. The regulator said this wasn’t the same as a formal enforcement notice, and that it was continuing to monitor noise and undertaking “detailed dialogue” with Dairy Partners.

Mr Welch said the LNG supplier it had been using exited the market last autumn. This supplier, he said, had a “silent” gravity-fed tanker which took six to eight hours to complete its delivery. He said all the available alternative LNG suppliers used a pressurised delivery system which was quicker, reduced the risk of spillage and was more economically viable. The company switched to the pressurised delivery system, which led to complaints about the accompanying noise.

Mr Welch said Dairy Partners tried using different tankers and built a wooden pallet stack to try to mitigate noise before investing in the sound-dampening panels, which he said made a big difference. He added that Dairy Partners was working with NRW to modify its site permit to reflect the use of the pressurised LNG deliveries.

Site manager Daryl White said liquid natural gas powered the factory and that there was one delivery per week during daytime hours between Monday and Friday, lasting one hour.

Dairy Partners measures the decibel level of LNG deliveries and Mr Welsh said the noise rated as “moderate to soft” when heard at the nearby roadside. A resident living just across the road, Megan Ceiriog-Jones, said she had recorded a higher decibel level, and that the sound of other operations such as night-time “venting” which she had recorded on video were disruptive. “The noise videos are just a sample of noise complaints that are sent to NRW on a regular basis,” she said.

Dairy Partners said further noise-dampening measures would be added as a condition of planning approvals for wastewater and cleaning tanks which were decided by Carmarthenshire Council’s planning committee last month. A handful of objectors opposed the retrospective applications, including Ms Ceiriog-Jones and Stephen Rees, who both addressed the committee. Ms Ceiriog-Jones said the effects of “noise and sleeplessness are hard to quantify”, while Mr Rees said the reality for residents living by the cheese factory was “considerable disruption”. Ward councillor Hazel Evans addressed the committee to say that Dairy Partners was a large contributor to the local economy and that she was reassured by the many planning conditions proposed by the planning department. She said she understood that some nearby residents weren’t happy, although they didn’t wish to see the factory close.

Speaking to the Local Democracy Reporting Service, Mr Welch said the company logged all complaints, had attempted to talk to Ms Ceiriog-Jones, and wanted to have a positive relationship. He said: “We want to be good neighbours.”

Mr Welch said cheese had been made at the site since 1938, with previous owners including Canadian firms Saputo and McCain Foods, and an Egyptian family business.

Site manager Mr White said the factory was “on its knees” when Dairy Partners took over in 2013 and began investing in it and increasing production.

Every year around 200 million litres of milk arrives at the site from 140 nearby dairy farms. Nine hours after arriving the milk is turned into 2.5kg blocks of mozzarrella cheese, with the separated whey sent to another company where it is dried and sold in powdered sports nutrition products. Cream is also produced at the Aberarad site.

“Making cheese is really technical,” said Mr Welch, who is one of three Dairy Partners directors. “You’te taking milk and turning it into a stretchable cooking product which has a lot of different characteristics. You’re manipulating proteins, sugars and minerals in a reproducible product.”

Varying levels of salt can be added to the cheese blocks, which move slowly along a tray system in a brine solution before being packaged ready for onward delivery. Around a third of it ends up overseas in countries including Lebanon and China.

Mr Welch said the site produced around 22,000 tonnes of mozzarella and pizza cheese per year, and that it hoped to expand this to as much as 35,000 tonnes. He said the 75 jobs were highly skilled and that many more indirect jobs relied on the site. Mr White said haulage business Mansel Davies & Son had around 40 drivers who delivered to and collected from the Aberarad site.

Dairy Partners, which also has a base in Gloucestershire where its cheese is shredded, has an annual turnover of around £140 million. “The market is expanding – we can’t keep up,” said Mr Welch. “We’ve got to keep producing, and we are never going to be silent.”

THE £300,000 investment work, which started in September, was essential to keep the gas flowing safely to heat and power local homes and businesses, keeping people warm for generations to come. It involved upgrading gas pipes in the Station Road area of the town and Wales & West Utilities worked closely with Carmarthenshire County Council to plan the scheme.

Wales & West Utilities Adam Smith managed this work. He said: “We’re happy to have finished this work and want to thank everyone who lives and works in the area for bearing with us while we completed this essential work.

“While most of the gas network is underground and out of sight, it plays a central role in the daily lives of people across St. Clears. Whether it’s heating your home, making the family dinner or having a hot bath, we understand how important it is for your gas supply to be safe and reliable and there when you need it.

“This work was essential to keep the gas flowing to local homes and businesses today, and to make sure the gas network is ready to transport hydrogen and biomethane, so we can all play our part in a green future.”

Wales & West Utilities, the gas emergency and pipeline service, brings energy to 7.5m people across the south west of England and Wales. If you smell gas, or suspect the presence of carbon monoxide, call us on 0800 111 999 straight away, and our engineers will be there to help any time of day or night.

TATA STEEL has confirmed to the Welsh Government plans to close its two blast furnaces at Port Talbot, transitioning to electric arc furnace steelmaking as part of a £1.25bn strategy. This move is set to impact approximately 2,800 jobs, with major implications for the local community and wider Welsh economy.

Jeremy Miles MS, Cabinet Secretary for Economy, Energy and Welsh Language, expressed deep disappointment over the company’s decision to disregard the multi-union report’s recommendations for a more sustainable transition. This report, commissioned by the UK Steel committee, had advocated for measures that would reduce the environmental impact of steel production while considering the workforce’s welfare.

The phased closure will begin with Blast Furnace 5 in June, followed by Blast Furnace 4 and other heavy assets by September’s end. Over the next 18 months, the first wave of job reductions will take effect, beginning this July, with further losses anticipated at the Llanwern site over the next two to three years.

The Welsh Government has criticised the pace of the transition, suggesting that a more extended consultation period between Tata and the unions might have mitigated the scale of job losses. As the company prepares for a three-year transition period, it will rely heavily on steel imports to meet customer demands, a move that raises concerns about the future of local production capacity.

Miles underscored the strategic importance of the Welsh steel sector, not only for the local economy but also as a vital component of the UK’s industrial landscape. He urged Tata Steel to avoid compulsory redundancies and to collaborate closely with the Transition Board to provide the necessary support, including reskilling and employment opportunities for the affected workers.

The confirmation of the shift has prompted significant unrest among the workforce, with unions balloting for potential industrial action. Tata has set conditions on its voluntary redundancy packages, which are subject to ongoing negotiations along with future investment commitments.

The Welsh Government remains committed to supporting the steel industry, emphasizing the need for a clear and substantial investment vision that will ensure the sector’s sustainability and the prosperity of its workforce. The transition board has already initiated various support mechanisms, including job fairs, advisory sessions, and a comprehensive action plan to cushion the economic impact on the community.

This transition marks a challenging new chapter for Port Talbot and the entire Welsh steel industry, with long-term implications for the regional economy and its people.

Commenting, Welsh Conservative Shadow Economy Minister, Samuel Kurtz MS said: “The disappointment felt by those losing employment at Tata cannot be understated. We need to support our steelworkers, not just with warm words, but with skills, retraining and jobs.

“We have been clear that we want to see a blast furnace remain open in the transition to electric arc furnaces and we need to take full advantage of the opportunities that the new Celtic Freeport will bring.”

In a joint statement following their respective contributions in response to the statement, local Senedd Members for South Wales West, Tom Giffard MS and Dr Altaf Hussain MS added: “We need to support our communities in and around Port Talbot more than ever following the disheartening news from Tata.

“It is a matter of deep regret that the Labour Welsh Government have yet to put a single penny on the table to support the UK Conservative Government-funded transition board. We need more detail from Labour as to what they are actually doing to back the workforce.”