Residents raise concerns over storm tank project

People living near the site of a storm overflow tank project have expressed their concerns about the plans.

Residents and local businesses in Crosspool were invited to a drop-in session on Wednesday to learn more about the underground tank to be built at nearby Calver Fields.

Yorkshire Water said it was "good to be able to talk the local community" through the £3.6m scheme, which will see a new 2,500m³ storm tank installed beneath the fields off Hagg Lane.

Some who attended the session said they were concerned the impact the 18-month project would have on local wildlife and criticised the water firm for a lack of "transparency" about the work.

Once completed, the storage tank will hold excess wastewater and surface water following a period of heavy rainfall, to prevent it being discharged into the River Rivelin from Rivelin Valley combined sewer overflow (CSO).

Yorkshire Water said during the busiest period of construction, there could be up to 15 lorries per day removing excavated earth from the site.

Dan Kirkland set up the Friends of Calver Fields Facebook page and said people were "massively emotionally invested" in the land.

"It's used for people's mental health, dog walking, picnics, schools and Scout groups. People go there to enjoy the views and walks," he said.

Kirkland believes local concerns about the plans would have been "diminished" if more drop-in sessions had happened sooner.

This was the fifth and final of sessions that Yorkshire Water first held in May 2025.

He said despite living in a property that backs on to Calver Fields, he had never had any contact from Yorkshire Water and only found out about the drop-in session from neighbours who received a letter on 30 May.

"I think the biggest concern has been the lack of transparency and now it's gone from zero miles an hour to 100 miles an hour and it's happening next month.

"If they'd communicated better, there'd be a lot more people that'd be less anxious. I look at the plans now and it all makes sense. It all kind of adds value to the local community."

Ruth Milsome, a Labour councillor, in the Crookes and Crosspool ward, described the initial information from the water company as "rather scant", which set residents into "panic mode".

Milsome said the water company could have "brought local people with them" if they'd been more open.

"It was the landowners, the Sheffield Methodist Circuit, who broke the news to the community.

"People suspected it was Yorkshire Water but they wouldn't identify themselves, it was just a subcontractor surveying with drones and so people have been suspicious of the whole process right from the start.

"If they'd come out to the community and reached out to us and said we want to actually invest in this area and help with the sewage run-off and put a positive side to it, it would've helped," she said.

Milsome said although councillors had received confirmation that there would be an ecologist present during the works, and that another bat and badger survey would be conducted ahead of the works, some "environmental" questions still remained.

"We're seeing things on the plans such as the access to the site that will almost inevitably involve destruction of a wildlife-rich bank.

"The land is rich in bird and insect life and there could be badgers on the site as well."

Yorkshire Water confirmed to the BBC that it did send letters and invite residents to four community sessions at Calver Fields in May and August 2025, but admitted that there was "low attendance".

A Yorkshire Water spokesperson said: "We were pleased to see so many local residents at the meeting this week and introduce our contract partners, Ward & Burke, who will carry out this important work and also operate as public liaison, together with our own engagement team.

"Ward & Burke were able to explain the findings of the ecology report undertaken to ensure that the local wildlife is protected and the existing flora and fauna seed banks saved. This is so that it can be reintroduced as part of the betterment, so that the land is fully restored once the scheme has completed.

"Whilst we have been in conversation with the landowners for over 18-months, it was good to be able to walk the local community through the scope of the scheme and answer any questions or concerns they may have. We will stay in touch throughout the lifespan of the scheme and our aim is to keep disruption and impact to the local community to a minimum."

The work to install the tank is expected to begin on 6 July.

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