WARRINGTON Borough Council says it has urged developers to respond to a full range of issues, including flooding caused by the ongoing development works at Peel Hall.
Poplars and Hulme residents have been underwater yet again during the Vistry building programme.
Dave Sawer, local resident and member of the Rule of Six Party, who gave evidence on hydrology at the Peel Hall inquiry, said, “We are under water on Poplars near to Brathay Close this morning thanks to terrible resurfacing carried out by some incompetent contractors working for Vistry three weeks ago.
“Thanks to Opus and Vistry, we now have a bomb site opposite the close – while the representative of Warrington Borough Council sits idly by and do nothing! I’ve flagged it up with WBC this morning, but it will probably be the end of the week before someone comes!
Another resident, Jackie Worsley, added: “So that’s the temporary footpath not in use. Is the other side of the road still blocked off? The other day I had to cross over due to the footpath being closed altogether. So, people need to walk in the road.”
Geoff Settle, who was also a member of the Rule of Six Party and gave evidence on behalf of Warrington Nature Conservation Forum, said: “Residents have been angrily posting on Facebook about the decimation of trees that have been ripped out the earth. I bumped into Gail Cummings on Poplars; she’s a resident who runs art classes. She told me of foxes escaping Peel Hall Development to shelter with their cubs in neighbours’ gardens, roe deer loose in Grasmere Cresent and much more.
“Cllr Stuart Mann has been doing a great job feeding back residents’ issues to Vistry for them to be resolved. But the company need to focus and show more attention to detail. These issues shouldn’t be occurring in the first place.
“I have visited residents in Birch Ave where Vistry contractors fractured a water main, flooding the road and the property of a former Fiddlers Ferry commodore. I suppose they expected him to have his old yacht in the garage for rescuing his neighbours. Low and behold, he had two paintings by my Watercolour Teacher, Sue Cartwright, of him sailing his yacht.
“This year I’ve visited residents in Houghton Green, where heavy rains formed a stream down Mill Lane to flood a garage, whilst in Gershwin Cresent runoff rainwater from the new vandalised acoustic fence has buried the public right of way path, ankle deep in water.
“I trust other communities across the borough are taking note and getting involved in reviewing planning applications and the impact that they will have on their homes and the local environment and raising their concerns with the planning committee as soon as they can. I’d suggest six key words to think about; research, organisation, communication, evidence, scrutiny and vigilance, incorporating a lot of hard work.
A Warrington Borough Council spokesperson said: “We are aware of a number of concerns raised by local residents in relation to this development. We want to reassure residents that we are taking enforcement action in line with relevant legislation.
“We recognise that enforcement alone does not address the wider impact these issues have had on the local community. As a result, we have set out to the developer the full range of issues raised and asked them to respond as a matter of urgency.
“We will continue to monitor the situation closely and will not hesitate to take further action should compliance not be met.”
2 Comments
It’s been a nightmare for residents having to live on these extended building sites.
Rule of six party worked so very hard to fight this development and those that have been approved by the planning committee that have been given the green light and there are two more in the pipeline.
Be prepared for more misery in the rest of the borough, especially those there were not in the local plan
Watch out for the new local plan, will your input be include, were they included in the current one. Who is the architect of the new one and what will they include or exclude.
What about the drain they have covered over with tarmac on the corner of Brathay Close???
Incompetent workmanship – how the hell did this happen??