By Jamie Waller, Local Democracy Reporter
Broxtowe residents are demanding that suspected asbestos sheets which have laid near a brook for almost a year are cleared up.
The potentially toxic waste was washed down the Boundary Brook between Stapleford and Trowell by Storm Babet last October.
Sheets are also stacked up against a garden fence on the Trowell side of the stream, which residents say they have been complaining about for even longer.
A community group has been urging that they be removed to protect the environment and passers-by, but has hit a dead-end in finding who has responsibility for it.
Broxtowe Borough Council says there is a multi-agency operation around the material, but hasn’t given any timeline on when it will be removed.
Stapleford and Trowell Boundary Brook Action Group was set up in the aftermath of last year’s flooding.
Chair Alison Slack said: “We’ve been fighting for months for someone to take responsibility for the sheets – it’s becoming a joke.
“We keep getting told it’s the job of the landowner, but no one seems to know who that is.
“A lot of people walk that way, and children play in the stream.
“As a health and safety expert, I know how bad asbestos is, particularly if it starts breaking down.
“Everyone is worried about the spores and what it could be doing to the water.”
Asbestos poses little risk if it is intact, but can release fibres when the material is disturbed.
These can cause heart and lung problems if inhaled, and all forms of asbestos have been classified as carcinogenic.
Councillor Richard McRae (Brox Ind), who represents the area, said: “Its presence in a public watercourse such as Boundary Brook is alarming, not only due to the potential health hazards for people and animals but also because of the environmental contamination it could cause.
“We urge the authorities to take immediate action to remove this hazardous material from Boundary Brook. The health and safety of our community and the protection of our local environment depend on it.”
Nottinghamshire County Council has told residents it doesn’t have authority over that part of land either.
A spokesperson for Broxtowe Borough Council said: “The council is aware of the matter and it is currently part of a multi-partnership operation.”