News Builders come under fire from residents
A housing development on the edge of Goole has again come under fire over the way it is being built.
Fed-up residents attended Monday's Goole Town Council meeting and complained of dirty roads, noisy workers and a serious risk of flooding.
Ben Bailey's Reubens Reach development, off Bretton Avenue, was criticised in May but residents say that despite reporting the problems, nothing has been done.
"It's not the fact that it's being built but the it way it is being built," Steve Butterworth, of Bretton Avenue, told councillors.
"We've written several letters to the developers' builders but they continue to start work before 8am, often at 7am.
"They often work through weekends, too."
Another resident, Jennifer Walsh, added: "There's lorries pulling up, cars pulling up, radios on.'
Noisy generators and site lighting are causing an annoyance, as is the state of the roads, which the contractors clean with road sweepers.
"They're still dirty and they're not swept every day," claimed Mr Butterworth.
The residents are concerned about the threat of flooding because, they say, the land that the new houses are being built on is several inches higher than that of their properties.
"If you've got land ten inches higher you're going to get water seepage into our properties," a third resident said.
Traffic speeding on and off the site was also mentioned, especially as there are no white lines to indicate who has right of way.
"It's an accident waiting to happen," said Ms Walsh.
Particularly frustrating for residents, however, is the lack of response from the authorities, especially the East Riding of Yorkshire Council's (ERYC) enforcement department.
"We are concerned that no one takes any notice of anything we are saying," said Ms Walsh.
Town councillors sympathised with the problem, with Cllr Brian Cooper describing the site as "a bomb site" and unanimously agreed to write to the ERYC asking what action has been taken and if senior members of the relevant departments would be prepared to attend a site meeting with the contractors, town councillors and residents.
They will also write to the audit commission and request details of their last audit of the ERYC's planning department.
A spokesperson for Ben Bailey homes said they were doing everything they could to accommodate the nearby residents, and would be using a new way of installing foundations in the future so as to reduce the noise.
"We've put in proper drainage systems," he said. "I appreciate the residents' frustration with the roads but we sweep them at least three times a week."
And while he said the company could only control vehicles on site, he stressed: "They are professional people."
He invited people to inspect the site and to report any problems to him, and said a representative would be happy to attend a meeting.
A spokesperson for the East Riding of Yorkshire Council said that the land level was raised in accordance with what was approved, and the developer has agreed to sweep the roads daily.
He added: "We have received complaints about the hours of work and we are investigating.
"If anyone has details of exact times and dates and the types of work being carried out they can contact our planning enforcement section."
Des Simmonds can be contacted on 01482 393711.
Published on 6th September 2007 in News.
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