Dangerous 'fake' land on Doncaster river won't be cleared due to cost issues

Members of the Don Gorge Community Group had called for urgent action over the mass of weeds on the River Don at Sprotbrough Lock, fearing the patch of lush greenery could be mistaken as land and walked on by unsuspecting members of the public.

But the Canal and River Trust has said that while it understands concerns about the ‘eyesore’ it does not have the resources to remove the weeds.

Spokesman Zoe Stringer said in a letter to group members: “I share and understand your frustration at seeing litter along the waterways, especially collected within or behind the weir boom.

"It is an eyesore. Sadly, this issue is not isolated to the boom above Sprotborough Falls and despite the Trust spending £1million every year on litter removal, we are simply unable to clear every site when problems arise.

"The Trust is a charity with 2,000 miles of waterway and thousands of structures such as locks, bridges and weirs. We must carefully allocate budget as we simply do not have enough funding to resolve every issue as quickly as we, and others, would like to see.

“Clearing weir booms is costly due to several factors.

"Access is an issue, requiring specialist contractors.

"Waste disposal is another one, with the debris being a mix of vegetation and plastic waste which needs to be separated before disposal.

"When waste is scooped out it is inevitably wet, which poses an issue of increased weight compared with clearing litter and vegetation on land.

" I appreciate that you have approached the Trust expecting immediate action, however this is simply not possible with our limited budget. With the challenges that we face, it is unfortunately not a simple task, and so would not be possible without external funding.

“We are sadly unable to collect litter from every bankside and location along the waterways; in some places it cannot be collected safely, or would incur great expense bringing in specialist contractors. Clearing litter is only a temporary measure. Our preferred approach is to work to tackle the issue at source, to work with other organisations raising awareness of plastic waste and the need to keep litter out of the environment.

"There is no concern that this debris is significantly affecting water flow. I appreciate this is not the answer you were looking for but hope you can understand our position.”

Local fishing groups first raised the issue of the weeds at Sprotbrough Lock in June and the Don Gorge Community Group, which helps care for the area alongside the River Don at Warmsworth and Sprotbrough joined the calls to remove the debris.

Lynne Walker, the group’s secretary, said: “We are increasingly concerned about the unsightly mess and pollution on the River Don, where the water flows towards the boom, just prior to the weir, known locally as Sprotbrough Falls.

"Over time, debris has gathered in front of the boom and it has continued to gather, so much so, that we now have a land mass of weeds and pollution – plastic bottles, wood and logs.

“This land mass of weeds, plastic bottles and other debris is a completely disgusting mess, in an area known for its natural, outstanding beauty. I very much doubt that if this location was in Surrey or Berkshire, the Cotswolds - Bath or any other desirable place in the country, it would have been allowed to have become this unsightly mess before the Canal and River authorities would have acted!

“The Don Gorge Community Group has concerns that the weeds, debris and pollution piled up in front of the boom will not only hinder the natural flow of the river but, that the debris will only continue to gather unless some action is taken to remove it.

“It’s unsightly – it’s disgusting and we do not want to see this mess on the river in an area known for it’s outstanding beauty. It’s not acceptable that this is allowed to continue without the Canal & River Trust taking some steps to clear it.”

She added: “I wonder just how much of a mess it needs to get into before they will take any action?”