Residents living near the Covered Bridge Potato Chips factory say odour, noise and safety concerns are growing.
The new plant began operation last month, after the company’s original plant outside Hartland, N.B., was destroyed by fire in March 2024.
Covered Bridge retrofitted their former warehouse in Woodstock, N.B., to resume making the popular chips.
“The company launched a campaign to let people know that they’re back in business, that they’re here permanently and three fryers operating with two more planned to be installed,” said neighbour Gordon Porter.
Brook Dickinson, the company’s executive vice-president, told Global News on Sept. 9 they were “back in business.”
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“We were hurt temporarily, but we’re back in force,” said Dickinson.
“It’s a property we’ve actually owned for over a decade now, so we had it, it was available. We completely renovated it, gutted it from top to bottom, inside and outside, to make it a modern manufacturing facility today.”
But neighbours say since the plant started operating, they’ve been dealing with excessive noise.
“Almost every day, it’s well into the evenings and sometimes in the middle of the night,” said David Turner.
The neighbours are also concerned about the smell from the smoke the plant produces, and potential fire risks from the large volume of natural gas on site.
“According to the company, they plan to install a 30,000-unit natural gas container, just off here behind David’s house,” said Porter.
A small industrial bylaw change back in August 2024 allows food processing plants to be built in the town’s industrial park. The Town of Woodstock posted a notice of the amendment on their Facebook page, but Porter argues that the decision lacked proper consultation.
“Lawful notice or not, there was no effort to come and talk to people here or to let us know,” he said.
“This plant does not belong in a neighbourhood this close to people who have lived here for many years.”
Global News reached out to the town’s mayor, Trina Jones, but she was not made available for comment by deadline.
— with files from Rebecca Lau and Anna Mandin
© 2025 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.
