CRITICISM OF YORKSHIRE WATER STILL FLOODING IN
BISHOP MONKTON TODAY
A week after Yorkshire Water finally completed work to connect the new Lamb and Flag development to the water supply, 'Bishop Monkton Today' is still being contacted by villagers angry and frustrated with the company.
To recap briefly, it took seven attempts over a period of three months for the work to be completed and there were several complete road closures and a number of other planned road closures which were cancelled at the last minute. The developer of the Lamb site complained to the water industry regulator, OFWAT, about YW and last week the landlord of the Masons, Gary Cross, hit out at the company which he described as 'not fit for purpose'. YW responded to these criticisms last weekend and thanked villagers for their patience.
Now, two more prominent Monktoners have added their voices to the debate about the water company and we publish their concerns below. We will, of course, ask Yorkshire Water to respond to these points.
Sheila Parsons -
"Please could someone get the road and pavements cleaned. I live opposite the Lamb and have suffered months of digging, lorries, machinery etc. I have not minded because it was necessary, But now the road and pavements are filthy. All the road markings have been obliterated. This of course is not just due to YW. I will try NYC again! I am fed up of oily dirt being carried into my house."
Martin Minett -
"In my many communications and meetings with Yorkshire Water over the last 5 years or so, I am not surprised by their selfish and useless handling and communicating relating to the L&F 'roadworks' saga. While they occasionally appeared to be concerned about the village situation regarding flooding and sewage, they would never then commit themselves to paper. They continued to be quite devious over matters such as-
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the sewage system is or is not at capacity
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any problems reported were seemingly mainly due to 'wet wipes' supported by a very scratchy list of recorded complaints
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the lack of a complete, recent and correct plan of the drainage system in the village (sewer, mixed, surface water, fresh water)
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it seems that they will not oppose a development if it is in the Local Plan, no matter what the implications are on sewage and flooding
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they appeared to be satisfied that our inadequate Sewage Works is in a plan of works that might take 25 years to complete. Note that it pumps untreated sewage directly into the river on average about 4 hours per day every day - for 1500 hours and on 120 days in 2023
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not responding to the NY Planning Committee's request for an explanation about the capacity in our sewage system or as requested, attending the second Planning meeting in Ripon and without explanation.
"This list could go on and on. I do not consider them 'fit for purpose', while OfWAT, which should be monitoring them, appears to be little better. One could add that the number of false warnings regarding road works in general is not entirely down to Yorkshire Water, there are many that also stem from NYC (Highways) and various 'Utilities'. As Gary Cross said, where are the apologies? A 'cry wolf' situation, where all warnings become ignored."
We have contacted YW for a response to both Sheila and Martin's points including the specific claims made about the company's record and intentions which we have not been able to check independently. We will publish their response when we get it.
Click here for our earlier piece featuring Gary Cross's criticism of YW.
Click here for YW's earlier response to Gary's points.
Also, look out for a special article in the next couple of days on what exactly the other recent roadworks in the centre of the village (work to clean the drains) was all about and whether it will help.
Contact Information
Colin Philpott
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Bishop Monkton, Bishop Monkton, Harrogate, North Yorkshire, HG3 3QN