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Thursday 18 December 2014

Three questions about the Flintcross fire

I have had emails about the fire at Flintcross from residents concerned mainly about the air quality issue and I have asked the County Council (and through them the Environment Agency who were leading on the site investigation) three questions:
1. why was the air quality only checked on two days (14 and 15 Nov) given the duration of the fire into early December?
2. what happens if the owner ignores either the requirement now imposed on him to clear up, or the requirement not to allow any more material?
3. Has the investigation by the EA which began before the fire started - and which was the reason the county council itself stayed taking enforcement action on this site - concluded and what are the results?
I had a meeting at Cambridgeshire County Council about the fire and the effects of it, and I went to Fowlmere on Tuesday evening to the Parish Council to discuss with them.
We know that there were things dumped on the site that should not have been there, including tyre components and waste such as mattresses according to the EA report. I don't know why the air quality was only monitored for two days given how long the fire and its burn-out lasted, and I have asked the county council that question.
Ppeople have written to me saying that the advice to keep windows closed was simply not enough given how long this lasted, and also to complain of the impact of the aftermath of the fire on their health.
I have raised these questions with the county council and said that we need answers, and that sites like this need to be monitored more tightly rather than just a lot of clearing up afterwards.

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