Standing outside her backyard in Oldham, Susan Bartie lifts her finger and glides it across the roof of her car.
The thin layer of dust leaves her fingertip caked in dirt. She dreads to think how much she’s breathed in over the last few months.
She isn’t not alone in her fears. Those living on Oak Street in Shaw say they’ve endured “horrendous” dust clouds in the area lately – with one resident likening the scenes to the Sahara Desert.
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Locals claim problems started following the demolition of Shaw Distribution Centre on opposite Linney Lane. The project, which began last summer, involves destroying three mills to make way for 400 new homes.
Residents say dust and noise from the site has left them unable to open their windows or hang their clothes outside – with some claiming the dust clouds have triggered itchy rashes.
But Metropolitan Demolition, which is responsible for the demolition, says it's taking every step to comply with legislation – from asbestos surveys to water suppression to keep dust levels down. The demolition is set to be completed within four weeks.
“My husband has chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and he has to sit in the car until the dust cloud is gone,” resident Susan, 69, told the Manchester Evening News.
“I’ve not been able to go into my garden for years. We’ve been shielding and we’ve been really affected by it. The garden was the only place we felt safe.
“There’s an awful lot of dust. I phone [environmental health] up twice a week.
“The car is filthy. It’s just been horrendous but we know they have a job to do. We have to have the car cleaned once a week. [The dust] just sweeps in. We’re stuck in the house, we can’t come out.”
Oak Street resident Vicky Barker, 34, says her seven-year-old son has been suffering from a rash since December and that she believes the dust clouds are to blame.
The cleaner says she’s been to the doctors numerous times but no creams are able to cool his inflamed skin – with his scratching becoming so severe it’s even drawn blood.
“At first we thought it was from his swimming lessons and the chlorine was reacting to him,” the mum-of-two said.
“We had been to the GP several times who said it was a heat rash or an allergic reaction.
“We were given a variety of creams and gels but nothing [helped]. The rash would come and go and up to about five weeks ago it was getting more severe.
“He was scratching really hard to the point he was drawing blood. I was doing my absolute best to help him by cleaning his bedding every three to four days, the towels every two days and have them dry on the washing line outside, but now I realise the dust was probably landing on the bedding and towels.”
When Vicky noticed her windowsills and garden furniture were covered in thick dust one day, she instantly thought of the mills.
She claims she spoke to several other residents who are also suffering from rashes despite not changing their washing powders.
“In the last two weeks, I’ve taken him to the doctors three times and was given a mild steroid cream to no avail,” she added. “One doctor actually thought it was scabies, however my eldest son’s father is a paramedic and his wife is a nurse and they both said it wasn’t.
“I’m more concerned now as to how old the mill was and if it had any asbestos inside. With the dust flying around, not only is it landing in our homes, clothes and skin, we could also be breathing it all in. What must that be doing to our health?”
Another resident has also been left “itching all over”. “The house has been shaking,” he said. “The car is constantly full of dust. The noise is constant from 7.30am-ish.
“Recently people in the area have reported being itchy all over which is true for my house, too. We are all itching all over. Until we saw a post on Facebook, we thought it was an embarrassing situation for us only.
Resident Margert Hoyle claims noise from the site regularly wakes her up at 7.45am on weekends.
The 76-year-old says the works have even shaken her whole house – leaving her fearing for the foundations of the property.
“I know they have to do these jobs, but the noise,” she said. “The whole house shook, the bedroom, the mirror. It’s been noisy and bad.
“It’s been really bad since January. You worry about the foundations of the house. I’ll sit in my chair and the house is literally shaking.
“You can’t have the windows open or put the washing out. [They’re working] on the weekends too, so you can’t even get a lie-in even if you wanted one. They’re working from 7.45am until 5pm.
“Once I got grit in my eyes because it’s in the air; it’s everywhere. You just want to go out.
“I think they’re on the latter end now. It’s scratched all of my windscreen. It’s like an earthquake.”
One resident, who did not wish to give their name, described the dust as “appalling” - leaving Oak Street looking like the Sahara desert.
“The dust is appalling. I have a lung condition and I feel like it’s made it a lot worse. It’s like being in the Sahara,” the 65-year-old said.
“It’s just the noise. The dust is unbelievable. It’s like a sandstorm. It’s a nightmare.”
Gary Briggs says he’s unable to hang his washing outside due to the dust clouds. “It’s a bit noisy here and there is dust,” he said. We can’t put our washing out but we have an indoor dryer. It’s been going on for a couple of months.”
In a statement, Gerard Jackson, operations director for Metropolitan Demolition, the company responsible for the demolition, told the Manchester Evening News: “Firstly, I would like to say that I am sorry to hear that a number of residents appear to have medical issues in the vicinity local to our project. However, I would like to state the following:
“A full refurbishment and demolition asbestos survey was carried out prior to commencement of the work which identified minimal traces of asbestos. The asbestos that was identified was removed using a licensed and approved contractor.
“An independent analyst confirmed that all asbestos had been removed from the project, and clean air certification was issued. Therefore, I can assure all residents that there has been no asbestos present during the demolition of the mill.
“We were made aware of one direct complaint in relation to dust and have had regular contact with Environmental Health and the HSE over the demolition.
“We can confirm that we have had water suppression in operation throughout the whole demolition operation and this is still being utilised today with an expected completion date within the next four weeks.
“We have maintained water suppression throughout the site and have had water directly fed into our crushing plant.
“We have had regular visits from both Environmental Health and HSE and have also had monthly independent audits carried out on site. We believe we have done everything reasonably practical to reduce the impact of the demolition on the local population.
“We will continue to use water suppression over the next four weeks until our completion.
“We appreciate that demolition can be of concern to the local residents however we have maintained mitigating control measures to comply with all current legislation.”
Nasir Dad, director of environment, at Oldham Council, added: “We can confirm that our officers attended the site on Thursday 27 April and requested that the contractors put in place extra dust suppression.
“They have agreed to deal with this immediately to reduce the impact to our residents around the demolition site. If there are still issues in the area, we will ask our officers to revisit the site and see what else can be put in place.”
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