Council calls halt on development after flooding
Flood...Helen Connell's photos show the extent of the flooding in Glebe Road. The picture below shows her waterlogged garden after muddy water cascaded down from the Windy Ridge site.
BUILDERS have been ordered to down tools at a housing development in Harborough after flooding to nearby homes.
People living in Glebe Road found themselves facing a heavy flow of muddy water on Sunday after the weekend’s rainfall.
One home was left without power while sandbags delivered by Harborough District and Leicestershire County councils were used to prevent the water from further flooding houses.
Angry homeowners turned on developers Redrow Homes, whose work on the Windy Ridge site next door they blame for causing the flood.
Harborough District Council announced today (Wednesday) that it will be serving a temporary stop notice on contractors working on the development.
The stop notice effectively requires the developer to halt work on the Glebe Road site with the exception of flood alleviation work, said the council.
Redrow was granted permission to build 141 homes on the site earlier this year and residents claim preparatory work on the land by the builder caused the run-off of water.
Helen Connell, of Glebe Road, said: “It was unbelievable, I’ve never seen anything like it. I could hear the water running underneath the house like a river and going into the garden. It’s going to be an ongoing problem.”
Mike Maddox, of the Windy Ridge Action Group which fought the development, said the group has called on the district council to order the developer to cease work until proper drainage is installed.
He said: “There used to be a bit of flooding in Glebe Road, but I would say about 10 per cent of what we saw on Sunday. I had a lot of phone calls from people in Glebe Road on Sunday morning and I really feel sorry for them.”
Donald Clinton-Smith, who has lived in Glebe Road with his wife Doreen for 60 years, said: “We were against the development and okay, we can’t do anything about the fact it’s being built. But it should be done properly.”
Leader of the Lib Dems on the district council, Cllr Phil Knowles said: “The council officers need to investigate what caused this.”
A spokesman for Redrow said: “There has been historic flooding in Glebe Road. We are working with the local authority and doing what we can to prevent flooding in the short term so that our development doesn’t contribute to the problems in the area.”
A spokesman for the Environment Agency said: “We were, and remain, not satisfied that the surface water drainage proposals adequately address flood risk on and off site, in particular on Glebe Road.
“Residents have also advised us that there are existing drainage problems in this area and they are concerned the development proposals would exacerbate them.”
The agency said it was in ongoing discussions with Harborough Council and Redrow over the issue.
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Weather for Market Harborough
Friday 24 May 2013
Today
Heavy rain
Temperature: 4 C to 9 C
Wind Speed: 32 mph
Wind direction: North
Tomorrow
Sunny spells
Temperature: 5 C to 16 C
Wind Speed: 14 mph
Wind direction: North
