Residents concerned by dust from housing site

People living close to a new town in Devon have raised their concerns and frustrations over dust coming from the housing development.

Nearby residents whose homes are not part of the Sherford development near Plymouth said they have seen high levels of dust coming from the construction site in recent weeks.

They said they are worried about breathing in the dust which has covered their homes, gardens and cars.

Developers Sherford Consortium said work on the site was paused once it was made aware of the concerns and additional mitigation measures were introduced. It said air quality was regularly monitored and reported normal levels.

Ross Taylor said the dust has covered his garden, but his major concern was about what could possibly be in the dust.

"How do we know what's in this stuff, that's the biggest concern for me. How do we know if its healthy or not?" he said.

Lucy Westgarth said she was worried about letting her two young children out in the garden during the recent hot weather as she was concerned about what they might be inhaling.

Sarah Crockett said residents "cannot open our windows" because of the dust and that it was "proving quite difficult to breathe due to the amount of levels raised".

The developers said air quality was "monitored routinely via seven stations around the site and have reported normal levels".

It added that an experienced environmental health and safety manager was on site each day.

Work on the development started in 2015 and according to the plans, the site will have 5,500 homes for about 12,000 residents when completed.

The Sherford Consortium said "additional mitigation measures" have been put in place to minimise the dust which included using water bowsers to suppress dust, adjusting working methods and machinery use to limit airborne particles, and restricting its earthworks to low wind conditions.

"We recognise that the recent hot, dry weather has made dust more difficult to control and understand the concern this may have caused," it said in a statement.

It added that it had contacted local residents to provide updates and reassurance, and is committed to managing it carefully as works continue.

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