The neighbour of a Nottingham property which is having grant-funded cladding installed says the work has led to a "snow storm" of polystyrene on his street. Under a Government initiative to reduce carbon emissions and energy bills, eligible properties can have work such as external cladding or underfloor insulation done for free.
A property on Dale View Road in Nottingham has been having external cladding fitted under this scheme and one resident of the street has complained about the amount of debris it is causing. Mark Olde-Olthof, 61, said: "It's been happening for a few days now and they are having this fire-retardant polystyrene cladding fitted.
"The issue is not with the work being done itself but the debris it is causing, which throws so much polystyrene down the street that it's like a snow storm. I'm really concerned about how this affects the environment because I've seen squirrels eating the polystyrene and a magpie flew off with a six-inch piece of the damn stuff."
The work is being carried out by Midlands Installers Ltd, a certified installer of energy efficient systems in the region. Habib Rehman, Director of Midlands Installers, said: "With a job like this and especially with the weather conditions we've been having, there will be a small amount of debris coming off it.
"But the lads will always clean up at the end of the day and we do a really good job. We are prepared to do whatever the neighbour wants us to do, but we can't turn our back on the job now because we've already started it and we have had no other complaints about this."
Mr Olde-Olthof says he has had to personally clean up the polystyrene on several occasions and that his car is regularly covered in it, as well as his driveway and garden. Although some cloth has recently been put up around the house to try and stop the spread of debris, Mr Olde-Olthof says polystyrene was still coming off the property.
But Mr Rehman said the company had also given Mark Olde-Olthof £50 to valet his car. He confirmed the work being done is the installation of external polystyrene blocks, which has to be used on older properties where cavity wall insulation is not possible.
He added: "If the weather is good then we will get the job done usually within a week. But the blocks have to be coated and rendered after they've been put on and that's literally impossible when it's raining, so that's why this is taking a bit longer."
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