The culverted stream entering the proposed Persimmon Homes site from
Melrose Crescent, Adswood from Davenport playing fields. It then flows under the
London railway line and is now culverted across land at the back of the Cross Keys
public house. It then goes under Ladybridge Rd, then flows in open channel behind Lidl
before it is finally culverted under Calderbrook Drive estate, entering the Micker Brook at Warwick Close bridge.
That stream was
monitored by the defunct Rivers Authority – it being so polluted – and even last
year United Utilities tankers were seen behind Lidl vacuuming a substance from the stream
banks. To further complicate matters it isn’t just tip leachate that enters that
stream; the former brickworks and successors have an active sewage discharge
licence directly into the stream.
The placing of layers of soil on the tip to
dewater the land is undoubtably forcing the badly contaminated leachate into
streams and gardens around.
The Council planning website has recently changed
and some information has seemingly been removed. Bluntly all records of actual
tipping there going back to wartime were ‘disappeared’ roughly 1992. Jacksons, unfortunately, had a reputation it seems of allowing anything to be dumped at a
price and, so even if records exist I would query their accuracy.
