We’re forced to keep our kids indoors as dust from newbuild estate has left us ‘living in the Sahara’
FED-UP residents have compared living next door to a newbuild construction site to like "living in the Sahara".
Families say they are forced to keep their kids indoors due to the dust churned up by the diggers and it's making their lives a misery.
Many regularly keep their windows closed to keep the dirt out and find their cars are constantly covered in a thick layer of grime.
Others have complained of rats and moles coming into their gardens because the building work has forced them out of their habitats.
Retired engineer John Jackson, who lives on one of the worst affected streets in Longridge, Lancashire, said: "The dust is something else - it feels like living in the Sahara.
"We've only been here since last December but a lot of people here really have had enough."
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The 77-year-old, of Nateby Close, which borders OysterCatcher Lane where the new home are being built, added: "You can feel it in your throat and everything gets covered in it.
"My wife suffers from a dry throat so she really feels it."
His neighbour Colin Clarke agreed that "most people are really getting sick and tired" of the problems and fear it will continue.
"It's been going on for ages now," the 78-year-old said.
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"You clean your car and the next day it's covered in dust.
";I really wish they would just get on with it and finish the houses."
Kelly Smith, 37, raised concerns about her children and those who attend the local primary school breathing the dust in.
"You can feel it in your throat," the mum-of-two said.
"The kids at the local school are out in it. You wonder if it is doing them any harm breathing it in."
And some say they no longer let their toddlers play outside due to the debris.
Former teacher Margot Naylor, 82, fears it could go on for months more.
She said: "There seems to be no end to it.
"The building work starts just after 7.30am and goes on until 5pm but hardly any houses have been built yet.
"They are putting us through a real ordeal with it going on for so long. It seems to be taking an age."
Sharing how the dust impacts her, the pensioner added: "The dust gets inside the house and you can feel it in your throat."
On top of the dust, some residents are also worried about local wildlife being forced out of its natural habitat.
Margot said: "There used to a barn owl and a kestrel here but they've gone. It's a real shame."
And Colin added: "Some people have said they have seen more rats in their garden as they have been forced out of their habitat."
A spokesperson for David Wilson Homes, which is developing the Inglewhite Meadow estate, said: “We apologise to local residents for any problems with dust at our Inglewhite Meadow development exacerbated by the driest July for 80 years, but we are working hard to reduce its impact.
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“We have increased road sweeping and water damping down on site and have reviewed our soil management strategy to try and minimise the creation of dust in future.
“Working hours have been approved by the local authority and we will continue to work to these.”
