‘It’s just getting worse’: Chaos as key roundabout left underwater twice in three weeks

A busy roundabout has been left underwater for the second time in three weeks after successive storms. 

The Mainway East roundabout in Alkrington, to the south of Middleton, was left flooded when Storm Bert ravaged the area in November. The same happened again this weekend after Storm Darragh hammered the region. 

Problems began on Thursday when buses had to be diverted to avoid the submerged roundabout, according to Councillor Dylan Williams.

The East Middleton councillor said locals were left stranded in town. Many, he said, had taken the bus into Middleton but were unable to get back due to cancellations or diversions.

Councillor Williams also said he’s been contacted by parents of school children who had to walk miles further because their bus couldn’t get through the flooded roundabout to their stops.

“It started on Thursday and flooded constantly until Sunday,” Councillor Williams said. “It has started to subside yesterday (9 December). 

"On Thursday and Friday it caused chaos. The bus cannot divert as the roundabout is the only way through. 

“Lots of people are really angry and really frustrated by this situation. It has been going on for years and it’s just getting worse.”

The ward councillor has reiterated calls for the road, which floods anytime there is a heavy downpour, to be sorted out. The culvert next to the road collapsed a few years ago, forming a sinkhole. 

It means water cannot flow away from the road as easily.

Rochdale Council and Rochdale Boroughwide Housing (RBH) are locked in a battle over who should pay for the sinkhole to be repaired. The authority says the sinkhole is on the social housing provider’s land, so it is RBH’s responsibility. 

But RBH says it’s a highways issue, so it’s up to the council.  The work is estimated to cost around £150,000, according to Councillor Williams.

Siobhan McCoy, director of property services at Rochdale Boroughwide Housing, said previously: “RBH has taken legal advice on this matter and, although the damaged culvert is on our land, our understanding is that it was constructed to facilitate the adjacent roundabout and drain the highway. Therefore any repairs on it are the responsibility of the council.

“The repairs needed are costly and we have to be sure that we are using our tenants’ rent on things that are our legal responsibility.

“We are keen to keep working with the council to resolve this, and have also offered to pay the costs of independent expert counsel to determine where the responsibility lies.”

A spokesperson for Rochdale Borough Council said: “We appreciate the problems this is causing but we do not believe this to be the council’s responsibility and have made this clear to the landowner.

“This is subject to ongoing discussions, which we hope will be resolved as quickly as possible.”

George Lythgoe, Local Democracy Reporter