‘Loo roll and sanitary products hanging from people’s rose bushes’

Residents on the border of Salford and Wigan are living in fear of flooding every time there is heavy rain.

And the people of Linkfield Drive, Boothstown believe plans to remove a field yards over the boundary in Astley from the Green Belt, just yards from the houses, will make the flood risk worse.

Residents have to help themselves

Wigan council has posted notices on lampposts saying the area bordering Linkfield Drive could be removed from the Green Belt and allocated for an employment-led development in the borough’s draft Local Plan.

The properties in Linkfield Drive have been inundated nine times with foul water including raw sewage since 1997 with residents arguing flood mitigation measures taken by United Utilities and Salford city council have not been enough.

Some of the homeowners have invested in pumps to tackle the water when it flows down from the A580 East Lancs Road during stormy weather.

Retired social worker Kath Clark has blocked up her air vents, and is about to invest £4,000 in a flood-proof front door.

She has also created gaps in a hedgerow next to a public footpath and her house to help water flow into the field more easily.

Council boundaries now place the problem in Salford

Linkfield Drive was previously in the Wigan borough until boundary changes moved it into Salford.

Kath, 74, said:

Four of the houses at the bottom of the street have bought water pumps in case of floods. I have lived here since 2001 and ther have been eight incidents of flooding.

I’ve blocked up my air vents and I’m investing in a flood-proof front door.

Basically when it pours down over a short period of time all the water from the East Lancs down southwards flows down Linden Drive and through gardens, lifts the lid off the sewer on Sterndale Road.

The water then finds the lowest point which is the field adjacent to our house. Over the years I have maintained holes in the hedge purely to divert flood water. I got  no response when I tried to do this through the correct channels.  

At some point, think before 2008 United Utilities installed an enormous 14-foot diameter holding tank in the field to hold the surplus water until the pumping station could cope with it. Obviously, it failed as there were further floods.

Neighbour Christine Whittaker has lived in Linkfield Drive for 10 years. She said:

The problem is that United Utilities and Salford city council keep blaming each other.

Help for the residents from an engineer

The residents’ cause has been taken up by semi-retired electronics engineer Mark Lymer and his wife Jill.

Jill said: “It’s too easy for us to slip between the cracks because we are on the boundary of Wigan and Salford. “

Meanwhile, Mark and other residents are set to meet officials of Salford city council and United Utilities on Monday, March 19 at the town hall.

Mark said:

“One of the issues is that more than 800 homes have been built mainly on the Wigan side of the border over the lastd few years, which has contributed the overwhelming of the local drainage and sewage system.

The sewerage system here dates back to the 1970s. When there is heavy rain, there is loo roll and sanitary products hanging from people’s rose bushes when the water has drained away, all coming from that drain on Sterndale Road.”

United Utilities

A spokesperson for United Utilities said:

The sewer network in the area carries both rainwater from the highway drains and sewage. 

The flooding in the Linkfield Drive area has happened in times of extremely heavy rainfall when the sewer has been overwhelmed by the sheer volume of water flowing into the network. 

We apologise to those residents who have been impacted and we are working with Salford city council to understand whether there are any measures that can be introduced. “We are carrying out a mitigation survey, as part of this we are meeting with residents next week and will be making appointments to visit their properties.

Salford Council:

Salford city council’s lead member for planning, transport and sustainable development Coun Mike McCusker said: 

We are aware of flooding incidents at Linkfield Drive in Worsley and council officers have been liaising with residents and United Utilities for some time. 

The causes of the flooding are a result of water leaving the sewer system and this is the responsibility of United Utilities. It is important to note that the council’s highway drainage is working and is not the cause of the flooding. 

The council will continue to work with residents and partners in an effort to resolve the issue.

An LDRS article by Nick Jackson