Residents living on a street plagued by 'shocking' flooding say they are happy homes are finally being built on a derelict site in Arnold. A number of homes were exposed to flooding akin to 'Niagara Falls' as water ran of the land once inhabited by offices, contributing to the overfilling a brook at the bottom of residents' gardens during heavy rain.
The land off Rolleston Drive was home to a set of derelict buildings before they were gutted by a devastating fire in 2017, leaving behind a hollow shell. A total of 131 new homes are now being built, however, after years of little to no progress.
Residents of nearby Brook Gardens said the site contributed to serious flooding after the building was demolished, with water running off the sloped concrete foundations and into a brook at the bottom of their gardens. This led to their homes flooding during heavy rain several times in the past few years.
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Concerns had been raised about a lack of progress to transform the site. Construction work has since commenced.
Bob Mitchell, 72, whose garden was completely submerged by flood waters, welcomed the work. He said: "It is good it is being done.
"It will be better than what it was. I do not know just how it will fix the flooding but I've seen them taking drainage pipes in."
Some concern was raised over the noise, however. Mr Mitchell said: "It is a bit noisy but they only tend to work from 8am until 4pm. You just have to get used to it."
And Jane Manners, who has lived in Brook Gardens for 20 years, added: "[The flooding] was shocking. My friends had to move out and into a hotel.
"It has got to help really because they need to sort the drainage before they build the houses. That needs to be a priority."
Jay O'Callaghan, who moved in two years ago, said she too witnessed the flooding. However she has fears over the sheer number of homes being built.
"The noise is quite bad in the week and I work from home," she said. "I do not know how they are going to build 130 houses there."
