People in Formby are protesting against the noise and vibrations caused by work at a nearby housing development, saying that they are “at the end of our tether” and “losing the will to live”. Neighbours living on West Lane and the surrounding roads held a demonstration on Tuesday, July 21 against driven piling operations at the Redrow site, which use a mechanical hammer to force columns deep into the earth to prepare for building the 89 houses set to fill the site.
They said that the operation is “highly disruptive,” adding: “The community is reeling from intense vibrations and noise which is continuous every day.”
Redrow pauses piling for summer
Redrow has now said it has "decided to pause the piling during the summer months, so that residents can enjoy their time outdoors".
Maria Bennett, a local resident and parish councillor who is leading the campaign against the practice, said: “We are quite literally being rattled out of our homes.”
She said that one day she sat in her house and counted the number of times she heard the hammer fall, getting to 8,500 even though her observations were interrupted by her having to go out for a few hours.
Maria told the ECHO: “We’ve tried everything. We’re not NIMBYs, we’re not against the development itself. Our issue is the piling.
“It’s driving residents mad. They’re losing the will to live, because it’s all day, every day.
“It makes properties shake. The vibrations are making people ill, they can just feel it all the time.”
She said that the piling begins around 8am – although on Tuesday morning it started at approximately 7.45am. She said: “People who are working nights can’t sleep, they’re having to go away from here.
“Children have just started their school holidays, and they’re being woken up early. They can’t enjoy the garden. It’s ruining their summer holidays.
“We’ve had several heatwaves, but we’ve not even been able to open our windows and doors. There is just no respite.
“We keep filling incident logs in. We’ve been to Sefton Council, we’ve been to Redrow, we’ve been to our MP, to all our councillors. No one’s responding, half the time they don’t even acknowledge an email.
“I think we’re just at the end of our tether now. And we just don’t know when it’s going to end.”
Residents say piling timeframe may be extended
People living locally were initially told that the piling would go on for around 12 to 16 weeks after beginning on April 22, but a spokesperson for the contractor at the site told protesters the machine used at first was not suitable. He said that 35% to 40% of the work has been completed, so the timeframe may be extended.
She said that the parish council commissioned two independent reviews containing “expert scientific evidence” showing that the development could proceed without this type of driven piling.
However, she added: “Instead of protecting its constituents, the council refused to look at the data and gambled our peace of mind on the developer’s word.”
Driven piling involves dropping weights onto steel or concrete piles to push them into the ground, but the parish council argues that the developer could also use continuous flight auger piling, which uses a continuous rotating auger to drill into the ground. It said that this would eliminate the impact shockwaves and minimise the noise from the site.
Driven piles are typically faster and cheaper to install when ground conditions allow, council planning documents show, but “the primary drawback is vibration”.
Council documents added: “It is noted that Formby Parish Council have made representations in respect of the approval of details and have submitted technical studies in support of a view of a different approach to piling.
“However, in view of the comments made by the council’s environmental health manager it is considered that it has been sufficiently demonstrated on the balance of probabilities that the approach demonstrated within the [current practice] will satisfy the requirements of this condition.”
Sefton Council has told the parish council that it is not for it as the local planning authority to determine the best practicable means when assessing piling methods or to “determine whether the ground conditions are best suited for the method chosen by the developer”.
Parish councillor Derek Baxter said: “What they’re claiming here is simply wrong. No technical assessment has been done by Sefton Council.
“Residents are heartbroken, it affects their mental health. It harms people and it doesn’t have to happen, so it shouldn’t happen.
“Sefton Council are the ones with the key to this.”
Robert Jenkins, 72, who lives just around the corner from the development, told the ECHO: “The impact has been horrendous. My house has been shaking. One neighbour opened her kitchen cabinet doors and all the glasses fell out into the sink.”
He said that he has also heard from other neighbours about mortar and rendering falling from their roofs and external walls, adding that he does not know if it is connected to the piling, “but it’s very coincidental”.
Redrow said that no adverse effects on houses have been identified.
Robert added: “You can’t enjoy your house, you can’t enjoy your garden.”
He said that the vibrations have been found to be within safe parameters and the noise within legal decibel limits, but added: “What we’re arguing against is the incessant noise. It’s like a dog barking all the time. You can’t get away from it.”
Another local resident, Paul Williams, said; “Yesterday was the worst day I’ve had with it. You get up and around 8.20am the piling will start. I’ve got a ceiling above me vibrating, I’ve got my radiators vibrating, it’s just unacceptable.
“There isn’t a room in the house where you can escape it. Fortunately, I go out every morning, we went out yesterday just because it was horrendous, just to have a cup of tea somewhere else.
“They wouldn’t put up with it outside their own house.”
Another woman living nearby said: “I’m starting to want to have a cry in the morning. It’s really getting to me.
“We’ve got older people who can’t get out and at least two children on the autism spectrum. The least noise affects them.”
Other residents complained of cracks in their internal walls, with one adding: “Our bed shakes.”
Redrow says no adverse effects found
A spokesperson for Redrow said: “We’ve listened to the local community in Formby who have raised some concerns about noise from piling works. While the works have been approved by the Local Authority’s Planning Department and Environmental Health team, we’ve decided to pause the piling during the summer months, so that residents can enjoy their time outdoors.
“We’ve also changed the type of rig to a larger one, which will help to reduce the sound and vibration. This will reduce the disruption to the community, while these necessary works take place.
“We have been liaising with immediate neighbours and have completed surveys on some homes. We are pleased to report that so far, no adverse effects have been identified.
“We would like to thank the local community for their patience and understanding during these works, which will provide much-needed mixed tenure homes for Formby, delivering long-term benefits to the community.”
Sefton Council was also contacted for comment.
