Outrage as concrete is poured into Addingham beck destroying wildlife

Addingham Environment Group said a 'serious mistake' was to blame for the pumping of concrete into the trout pool in Back Beck in the village.

The move they said had 'destroyed' the pool and its wildlife.

The group acted swiftly when they discovered the highways work being carried out on Monday, July 3, calling in Bradford Council and the Environment Agency.

Concrete is poured into Back Beck in Addingham (Image: Addingham Environment Group)

They said: "Sadly and outrageously this morning a Bradford Council contractor has been pumping concrete into the trout pool on Back Beck just downstream of Bridge 55 in a very much misguided attempt to shore up Back Beck Lane at that point. The pool and its inhabitants have largely been destroyed. The pumping has now been stopped. Our Parish Clerk is taking up the issue with Bradford. This is one of the very few places in the village that our brown trout make redds.”

They later said: “A number of us have now spent sometime this morning trying to sort things out. Everyone accepts that a serious mistake has been made and Bradford Council and the Contractor have agreed to re-design the scheme that makes the road structurally safe on the one hand and minimises damage to wildlife especially brown trout habitat on the other. So work will continue with new concrete added but held behind a retaining curtain and the concrete that now fills the pool dug out to restore the pool to its original shape and depth. Once complete it will take some time to re-naturalise and we may not see trout back there for a long time, but it is probably the best that can now be achieved. Overall this has been a failure of communication and a failure to carry out an environmental impact assessment on behalf of Bradford Highways department.”

The site of the work in Addingham this week (Image: Addingham Environment Group)

Sallie Lloyd, Clerk to Addingham Parish Council, told the Gazette: "During an emergency site visit on Monday, all agreed that mistakes had been made at the design stage and that there had been inadequate consultation with the Parish Council and local community. It was also disappointing to learn that there had been no environmental impact assessment carried out prior to the work commencing. The structural work of shoring up the road and supporting the mains water pipe is essential but should be carried out in a manner that minimises damage to the aquatic environment. The contractor agreed that it would be possible to complete the structural work by introducing a shutter curtain and limiting the concrete support for the pipe, wall and road to a distance not more than a metre from the wall, and then remove entirely all the concrete from the rest of the pool in order to restore as much of the natural habitat of the pool as possible."

Robbie Moore MP said: “It is quite frankly shocking to learn what has happened at Back Beck as a result of serious mistakes from both Bradford Council and its contractor. The destruction of this vital habitat and its wildlife should never have happened as an environmental impact assessment should have been carried out in full by Bradford Highways department.

"Whilst remediation works are now underway to restore the pool, re-naturalising this habitat will not be an easy task. I have been in contact with Bradford Council to ensure a thorough investigation into the incident takes place and to ensure that proper measures to restore this pool are enacted at pace and with proper regard to the local environment.

"I commend the Addingham Environment Group for continuing dedication to our local ecosystems and will do everything I can as Addingham’s Member of Parliament to assist the group in this matter.“

A Bradford Council spokesperson said: “We are aware of this issue which arose on Monday (3 July). The incident was unforeseen, as the water flow had been contained before the concrete was pumped to shore up the bank.

“An Environment Agency officer visited the site yesterday (4 July) to test the water and found that the pH levels were still safe and did not pose a risk to wildlife in the pond. We have also agreed the next steps to complete the works with both the Environment Agency and Addingham Environment Group.

“This will involve reducing the quantity of concrete being used to a line on a plan which was shown to Addingham Parish Council. A concrete scour protection will be installed as planned and excess concrete on the banking side will be removed to allow the area to re-naturalise.

“To mitigate any concerns, the Environment Agency has been invited to the next concrete pour and will also be there when the excess concrete is removed to test the water samples.”

An Environment Agency Spokesperson said: “The Environment Agency were notified of a potential pollution incident at Back Beck, Addingham, on Tuesday (4th July)  and our officers attended the site to investigate.

“We carried out an assessment of the quality of the water in the beck upstream and downstream of some engineering works and were satisfied that the contractor was taking necessary steps at that time to minimise the risk of pollution.

“We continue to provide advice and guidance to ensure we continue to protect people and the environment.  If members of the public wish to report an environmental incident, they can do so by calling our incident line on 0800 80 70 60, 24/7.”