What on earth?
Residents’ country views disappear behind a 25ft high mountain of soil
FOR years they have enjoyed unspoilt views of the countryside behind their homes.
But the residents of Dickan Gardens have seen the landscape of fields and trees vanish behind a two-storey-high ‘pile of muck’ piled at the bottom of the gardens.
It towers over the row of bungalows in the quiet cul-de-sac.
Developers placed the 25ft earth banking behind the homes to shield them from the noise and sight of new warehouses being built nearby.
But the residents in Doncaster are demanding it be made smaller. They claim it blocks out their light and has already had an impact on house values.
One property was recently valued at £15,000 less than the average for nearby streets.
Alan Boutell, 73, and his wife Doreen, 63, said they thought the banking – built in October – would be temporary.
The retired digger driver said: ‘Nearly six months later, it’s still there. Nobody can believe it. The company could make it lower or less visible.’
Mrs Boutell said she fought the original plans for the construction of the warehouses with others in the street, but claims the council has repeatedly ignored the pleas of the mainly elderly residents.
She added: ‘We used to be able to see the countryside when we sat out in the garden. Now all we can see is a huge pile of muck.’
Neighbour John hotterwell, 69, said now he ‘can’t even see the sky’ from the house where he’s lived for 22 years.
The retired construction worker – who lives with wife Brenda, also 69 – said he wants the mound, which is 15ft from his back fence, moving back at least another 60ft, and reduced in height by around six feet.
he added: ‘I used to watch the horses going past the back of the house.
‘All I can see when I look outside is soil and pylons. During the winter, it was literally pitch black for months.
‘We don’t have a view any more, it is completely ruined.’
Gazeley, the firm behind the 280,000 sq ft industrial warehouse development, built the mound as a visual and sound barrier for the bungalows.
A spokesman said: ‘We have been working with the council to ensure that the construction and mounds have as little of an impact as possible.
‘We have been liaising with the local planning authority to discuss the possibility of obtaining a consent for alternative landscaping or potential fencing to deter people from walking on the mounds.
‘These discussions are ongoing and we hope to find a solution for residents.’
Roy Sykes, head of planning at Doncaster Council, said: ‘The embankments are designed to act as a noise and visual buffer between residents and the proposed industrial development.
‘They have been built to the approved height but following construction we have been made aware that some residents are unhappy with their size.
‘We are currently discussing potential alterations which address these concerns as well as ensuring the mounds remain an effective screen to the neighbouring employment use.’
‘I can’t even see the sky’