An investigation is being carried out to find out how a “vital” watercourse has allegedly been polluted with “thick sediment and mud.”

The stretch of stream, which passes along Twelve Acre Drive within the developer Bellway’s construction site, north of Abingdon, is being inspected by Environment Agency officers after reports of “suspected pollution.”

The developer said it is working with both the Environment Agency and Vale of White Horse District Council to identify the cause of the issue.

County councillor for Abingdon North and cabinet member for public health, inequalities and community safety Nathan Ley, said: “A few of us spotted this happening and couldn’t believe it.

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“An investigation has been launched with a view to finding out the exact cause. Developers have strict conditions around their work and if they are responsible for polluting an important local stream then that isn’t acceptable and whoever is responsible must be held to account.”

The district council has reported the issue to its internal planning enforcement team and has an investigation underway.

A spokesperson said: “We are aware of concerns relating to drainage on the development site north of Twelve Acres Drive, which is the responsibility of the developer, Bellway.

“We have raised on-site drainage issues with the Environment Agency and an incident has been logged on their national incident reporting service.”

Bellway has claimed it is a responsible developer, and takes its environmental commitments “extremely seriously.”

A spokesperson said: “We are currently investigating this issue within the local watercourse and are working with the local authority and the Environment Agency to identify the cause of the issue.

“As part of our construction activity, we installed silt barriers around the watercourse and have constructed a bund in front of this to help prevent silt entering the water.

“The site also has a silt prevention plan, which has previously been provided to the council before site commencement.”

An Environment Agency spokesperson said: “We have received incident reports of suspected pollution at the Bellway homes site in north Abingdon.

“We have sent officers to the site and are assessing the situation for any environmental impacts.

“Anyone who suspects pollution or other incidents in rivers and other waterways should contact the Environment Agency’s 24-hour incident hotline immediately on 0800 807060.”

Bellway Homes is building 371 properties on the northern edge of Twelve Acre Drive.

The development of the land around Twelve Acre Drive was approved by the Vale of White Horse District Council back in 2017, but several amendments have been passed since.

 

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This story was written by Matthew Norman, he joined the team in 2022 as a Facebook community reporter.

Matthew covers Bicester and focuses on finding stories from diverse communities.

Get in touch with him by emailing: Matthew.norman@newsquest.co.uk

Follow him on Twitter: @OxMailMattN1