| Beck a disgrace to Great Broughton
Then in 1964 - The picturesque brook which babbles through the country village of Great Broughton was once a joy to residents. Artists came from far and wide to paint it, and kingfishers and moorhens nested along its banks. But today it is claimed the stream is an evil smelling open sewer, choked with weeds and full of rubbish. The only wild creatures to be seen are rats. “It is now a dump for anyone in the village” said Mr J.H.Brotton whose garden backs onto the stream. “This is a charming corner of the village but it is spoiled by this dreadful beck.” Among the items found in it recently were a mangle, a push chair, a feather mattress, a broken attache case, old sewage pipes, and and a manhole cover. Mr & Mrs Frederick Foster who have lived in Woodbine Cottage next to the stream for `15 years, are now campaigning to have the beck cleaned up. “The smell is appalling” said Mrs Foster. “It hangs like a pall in the evenings and you have to hold your breath when you walk past it.” The Fosters think that Stokesley RDC is responsible for it. But this authority and Great Broughton Parish Council have denied ownership. So too have the Wear and Tees River Board. “No one seems to want to own it” said Mr Foster. He felt that if the stream was cleaned out the people of the village would taka manhole cover.e pride in it and keep it tidy. “ I would be only too pleased to organise a local fund to pay for keeping the banks trimmed” he added. Mr & Mrs C Gibson, who came to Broughton 17 years ago have regularly cleaned out their portion of the stream. “It should be an asset to the village, instead of spoiling it” said Mr Gibson. Mr Gordon Wilson, whose house overlooks the stream, has lived in the village for 10 years and is a member of the Parish Council. He too has done his share of “beck cleaning” but complains bitterly about the stench. “It is worse at night when the mist comes down. The smell just hangs, unable to blow away. He feels sure there is less water coming from the hills each year because of the thousands of trees planted by the Forestry Commission up there which require more and more water. Now in 1999 - Mr Fred Foster recalls that the County Council flatly denied any responsibility for the beck, claiming it was the residents’ responsibility, but after a protracted struggle he managed to get them to agree to a one-off cleaning. The Public Health Inspector reported that crude sewage had been discharged into the beck. He believed it came from the Kirby Lane area and the council served notice on certain residents requiring them to connect their house drainage system to the new mains sewer within 28 days. This article appeared in the January 1999 edition
of Now & Then Magazine |