(Image: Supplied / City of York Council Labour Group)
A ROW has erupted over the time taken to remove fly-tipped waste containing asbestos from a rural York road.
The hazardous material was discovered in the illegal drop in a roadside layby in Naburn Lane between Naburn and Deighton over the weekend of May 16 and 17 and was due to be removed on July 19.
A City of York Council spokesperson said the hazardous waste material had to be acknowledged and its report to the national Health and Safety Executive approved before it could be removed.
The city's opposition Liberal Democrat group claimed the timescale would not be the same if the fly-tip had been in York city centre and rural communities deserve the same standard of service as other parts of York.
However, Labour's executive member for the environment at City of York Council accused the opposition party of attempting to use the incident to "stoke division where there is none."
The Lib Dems ward councillor for Wheldrake, Christian Vassie questioned Jenny Kent, Labour's executive member for environment over the eight-week duration of the clean-up process during a Full Council meeting on Thursday, July 16.
In the same meeting, the Lib Dems claimed that a resident had "unknowingly come into contact with the site" after repeatedly replacing the plastic covering when it blew away.
Mr Vassie criticised the executive member for spending part of her response to the question celebrating a council park in Tang Hall receiving national accreditation in an annual scheme.
Cllr Vassie said: "This wasn't a difficult question.
"Residents deserved a straightforward explanation as to why hazardous waste had been left there for eight weeks and why it had taken so long to remove.
"Instead, the executive member chose to spend part of her response celebrating Hull Road Park receiving a Green Flag Award.
"That speaks for itself.
"If this waste had been dumped on Parliament Street, does anyone seriously believe it would have been left there for two months?
"I don't.
"Rural communities deserve the same standard of service as every other part of York."
He said welcomed the waste’s eventual removal but questioned why it took a public challenge to prompt action.
Cllr Kent said she condemned the act of fly-tipping and defended the council’s actions during the meeting.
She said: "Fly tipping is a crime, it blights our streets and harms our wildlife and environment.
"Everyone has been frustrated at the length of time it has taken to get this waste removed, but as the council has said, handling and disposal of asbestos is tightly regulated and can add significant time to the process.
"I asked for the process to be looked at to ensure lessons are learned, communities are kept informed, and whether anything could be done to speed it up in future, so it’s disappointing that the Liberal Democrat Party are attempting to use this to stoke division where there is none."
She defended her comments about Hull Road Park, saying: "Newly awarded Green Flag status for Hull Road Park is just one of many positive examples of significant benefit to our local environment, which it is equally important to celebrate."
Ian Hoult, head of environmental services at City of York Council, said: "Once this waste was tested and confirmed as containing asbestos, samples had to be sent for lab testing by our specialist contractor to determine the exact type of contaminant, before safe removal could be arranged.
"The waste was covered and hazardous tape put in place, then checked weekly by the contractor.
"Testing showed this material was reportable to the national Health and Safety Executive (HSE) and removal couldn’t take place until the HSE acknowledged and approved the report.
"This accounted for the majority of time taken to safely remove the waste, but was necessary to ensure the council and its contractor complied with the law."