Complaints from an Omanu resident about a strong smell coming from industrial plant on Hewletts Road are unfounded.

Jeff Law says he and his neighbours have noticed a 'real pong”.

'It's been bad for the last couple of days. It's a terrible smell.”

Regional council pollution prevention officers are unable to track down a ‘pong' in the Hewletts Road area that is being reported to them.

Jeff says one of his neighbours called and said the smell had been making other neighbours feel ill.

A spokesperson for Lawter NZ Ltd says he checked the plant and 'there were no odours coming from the site”.

'I checked the perimeter and there was only a slight smell of logs.”

The Bay of Plenty Regional Council pollution hotline received a phone call Tuesday night from a resident on Links Avenue complaining about a 'burning rubber smell”.

An investigation was unable to identify any source of the smell.

Pollution prevention officer David Ede says they received several calls on Thursday morning, but he has been unable to find a source.

'There are a number of sources that could be potentially the cause. There's definitely something there for sure.”

David says strong winds make it difficult to detect the smell.

'Using your nose is the best instrument, sometimes there is visual clues.”