In May 2005 the Save Spodden Valley group claimed that it had uncovered internal MMC correspondence which identified numerous sites where asbestos fibres had been found in September 2004, predating the planning application. The document stated: "The audit undertaken was visual and no samples have been sent away for analysis. I enclose a site map where the asbestos has been located: Top section of road near hair pin bend, asbestos sheets and asbestos fibre found in tree stumps. Road leading to Healey Dell, asbestos cloth." The developers responded that they had been aware of contamination in the northern portion of the site, but their testing report submitted to the council did not include this area as there had been no intention to develop there. Instead they had confined their testing only to those areas where they intended to develop and that there had been "some misunderstanding of our intentions and the test result."