Continued anger over storm relief pond

Lib Dem Councillor Dale Mulgrew

Residents on Hurst Meadow and Craiglands, Rochdale, continue to be up in arms because of flooding to houses and gardens that they believe is caused by an ineffective storm relief system created twenty years ago when the Hurst Meadow estate was built.

Before Hurst Meadow estate was built residents on Craiglands did not have water issues but once work had started on the new estate and the storm relief pond was built it was noticed that the land became water logged and entered their basements and gardens.

McAlpine, the Developer, installed drainage and did some remedial work on the storm relief pond on land between Craiglands and Hurst Meadow. Many residents believe the drainage installed was ineffective and has merely moved the problem from one area to another.

Complaints have been made but to date residents say that officials from Rochdale Council and Taylor Wimpey, who took over from McAlpine, have failed to provide a satisfactory answer.

Excess water from the Hurst Meadow development drains into the relief pond at a rapid pace when it rains and water runs off the fields towards the houses causing residents severe problems.

Residents are also very concerned the situation will only get worse if Taylor Wimpey and Wainhomes obtain permission to build 200 houses on the last piece of open land between Hurst Meadow and the M62 motorway.

One resident said: “Those fields are riddled with natural springs and streams. Hence the name, Springhill. There is already too much water to soak away naturally, if houses are built the problem will be even greater and we fear for the future.”

Councillor Dale Mulgrew has been working with the residents for a number of years. He has held meetings with council officials and Taylor Wimpey representatives but says they have not provided any practical solutions.

Councillor Mulgrew says: “This has been a long running saga which would rival the best plots of a TV soap opera. The flooding issues have been a real headache and have caused distress to neighbours, especially those residents who back onto the pond on the Craiglands side.

“After a meeting I helped to arrange over the summer, I am satisfied that at last both responsible parities are investigating this matter. In fact, Rochdale council is now looking to spend money to re-instate the drainage infrastructure of this location as confirmed in a recent letter to me.

“But this miserable situation, which has dragged on for some time, provides little confidence that the two hundred homes planned for a neighbouring plot won't also be subject to this kind of flooding trouble, given there are plans to build a further three storm relief ponds as a necessary drainage requirement for this new development. This is another reason why this land should not be developed.”