Taxpayer tango claim over ex-brickworks dust fears
BBCThe multiple organisations overseeing complaints of noise, odours and dust from a former brickworks has been likened to a "taxpayer tango" by a campaigner.
Saxon Pit in Whittlesey, Cambridgeshire, processes incinerator bottom ash (IBA), and its neighbours have spoken of hosing down cars and window sills because of dust they believe has been coming from the site.
A public health report by Cambridgeshire County Council said the regulatory system was "not always joined up".
Sally Cartwright, the director of public health at the authority, said it was looking to have a "better dialogue" with residents, the operators and agencies.
The site falls under the remit of multiple agencies, such as the county council for both waste planning and public health, Fenland District Council for environmental health and the Environment Agency, which grants environmental permits.
The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) has also had some involvement.
The report, published last month, said some residents were "specifically worried about the processing of IBA which they consider to be hazardous".
Alan Bessant, from the action group Saxon Gate, said officials "couldn't ignore the public level of concern".
Bessant said: "You've got this kind of taxpayer tango we call it, where there's a lot of activity and meetings but it's almost underpinning an ongoing business of activity which is never able to get to the bottom of anything.
"It's very concerning for residents, some of whom are in late retirement, so five or seven years when you're 80, what percentage of that is of your remaining time to enjoy life?"
Graham Richards, who lives near to the pit, said: "You can't sit out the back of your own property in the summer, you can't have a window open because of all the dust concerns that comes over, the noise and the toxic smell... it's just not liveable like that."
He was one of about 100 residents to meet with public health officials on Wednesday and said it had "reassured me a bit".
Cartwright added there was an ongoing "multi-agency" public health assessment going on.
"There isn't any evidence currently of any risks to health but what we have said is we need to carry on gathering some more information to be able to determine that more fully," she added.
An Environment Agency spokesperson said it had provided advice and data to the UKHSA for the agency's report on public health.
"The findings and recommendations within the report are made by Cambridgeshire County Council public health," they added.
East Midlands Waste Management and Johnsons Aggregates, which are both linked to the site, have yet to respond to requests for comment.
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