Housing developer apologises after high winds blow debris from Yorkshire building site into village beck

Insulation boards and plastic packaging from the building site were blown into Crimple Beck on Friday, in the village of Spofforth.

Yorkshire Housing said “it wasn’t safe to retrieve and clear up the debris” until this morning because there was stormy weather over the weekend.

Mark Barrow, a photographer who visited the site, said: “The wind has picked it up, broken it and dispersed it in the beck. It’s as far as the eye can see.

“It’s like a bomb site in the water and the smaller pieces are making their way down to the River Nidd."

A Yorkshire Housing spokesman said: “On Friday some insulation blew open in the high winds and broke up. The contractor notified the Environment Agency straight away to let them know what had happened.

“Because of the stormy weather over the weekend it wasn’t safe to retrieve and clear up the debris until this morning. We’re working quickly to do this and are taking this incident seriously.

“Windy weather isn’t an excuse and this shouldn’t have happened. We’ve discussed this with the contractor who will ensure any loose materials are secure to prevent this happening again.”

Yorkshire Housing owns the site but the construction is being carried out by the Leeds-based company Jack Lunn.

Plans to build 72 homes at Massey Fold, in Spofforth, were rejected by Harrogate Borough Council in November 2020, due to concerns about flooding, but that decision was overturned by a government planning inspector.