A group of neighbours feel they are being "fed excuses" in their search for answers after a large water pipe was damaged in Chilwell, flooding properties and forcing some to leave their homes. A Severn Trent water pipe was damaged by "third party contractors on a construction site building new student accommodation" near High Road, Chilwell, on Tuesday, March 7.
The damage led to a large amount of water bursting on to nearby streets and homes for hours - flooding the area with an estimated 1.2 million litres of water a minute. In a second residents' meeting held at Christ Church, Chilwell, on Saturday, June 10, those affected by the flooding had the chance to hear from representatives of the organisations involved in the incident.
Their statements were aimed as responses to questions raised at the first meeting on April 15 - over a month after the flooding occurred. But residents said they're still unsatisfied.
Have you experienced problems with potholes on Notts' roads? Let us know.
Speaking during the public meeting, one resident said: "I feel fobbed off. We're being fed a load of excuses." Their comments came after Broxtowe Borough Council chief Executive, Ruth Hyde and executive director Kevin Powell attended and spoke at the meeting, along with Nottinghamshire Fire and Rescue Service (NFRS), Nottinghamshire Police, Nottinghamshire County Council and MP for Broxtowe Darren Henry.
Severn Trent was also invited to the meeting but chose to provide a written response. The site's contractors were also invited but did not attend or comment. The water pipe was damaged while building work was taking place at the former Nottingham College site.
After months of debate, plans were approved to convert the site into student accommodation in July 2022. The land was purchased by ALB Group and the build itself was contracted out. Issues surrounding building close to the pipe were discussed during the meeting.
Local resident, John Coyne's whose property was also badly damaged during the flood, raised that a document in the planning application labelled 'clear water asset protection response' in the initial application stated that there was an 800ml water main in the application site and that no build-over was permitted.
In response, Ms Hyde from Broxtowe Borough Council said that the information had been forwarded to the applicant and that it was the duty of the applicant to inform the contractor. It would then be the contractor's job to arrange for a "suitable diversion" of that facility. She said: "It is not a matter for the planning authority to either delay or refuse planning permission on the basis of the existence of that water main."
The local council added that it has "no doubt" that the relevant information was passed to the relevant people. Broxtowe Borough Council said the applicant is responsible for seeking relevant permissions from the water authority, it was not required to notify Broxtowe or seek its permission.
Organisations also responded to questions from residents about the response to the incident on the day. Reflecting on its response, NFRS said it believes the number of resources it sent to the incident was adequate, it added it did "everything reasonable" to evacuate people from the site.
However, NFRS said it notes that perhaps it could have had a representative on-site to assist with welfare. Mike Ebbins, Broxtowe neighbour inspector for Nottinghamshire Police, also added that all of its emergency response protocols were adhered to on the day and that officers were in attendance from 2pm until 10.30pm.
Mr Ebbins added: "We had sufficient resources to manage what we needed to." Broxtowe Borough Council noted that it said it was on site by 6.15pm and had a representative present when the site was handed back to the council and Severn Trent by NFRS at 8.45pm the same day, remaining on site until 9.45pm.
The council was also on-site the next day. A representative for Nottinghamshire County Council also attended the meeting to discuss its response. It told residents that it was first alerted to the incident by Severn Trent Water, which had little information on what had happened.
The county council said it offered support to Severn Trent, but was told that it was under control. MP Darren Henry said: "I have written specifically to the Secretary of State talking about accountability and we would expect some answers based on this particular residents meeting.
"Secondly, on a broader issue, of HMOs - there are a number of those being developed in Beeston and Chilwell and other areas and I was very concerned that local sensitivities weren't being considered.
"So a number of issues I brought up in an adjournment debate in parliament. But one of the points I made was specifically about the burst water main." He added that this was responded to with a request for a meeting by the levelling up minister, which will take place in the future.
In a written statement, read out on their behalf, Severn Trent said: "Investigations are ongoing in the events that led to the burst and it is with legal representatives therefore we are unable to discuss specific details in terms of the length of time taken to stop the flow and complete the repair, or provide a timeline of events as requested.
"The priority when responding to incidents such as this is to ensure our teams and the public are kept safe." The statement continued to say that it is "extremely sorry" for not being able to provide a detailed response the residents wanted.
A spokesperson for NFRS added: "If you look at the volume of water - the 1.2 million litres of water a minute is what was estimated - we raised the lids for drainage around the roads. That's a significant impact of safety for people walking. So when we lift drains to encourage water to go down , we leave a crew or safety officers in that area to make sure that nobody walking through that flood water slips down the drain."
A spokesperson for ALB said: "As site owner, we apologise for the inconvenience and distress caused by this incident. However, we were not on-site at the time as the site had been handed over to the contractor. The site is owned by the company High Road Developments Limited, the head contractor for the development is HBW Construction.
"HBW’s insurers are currently liaising with Severn Trent’s insurers Sedgwick, and we cannot comment further until we have all the relevant information available to us.“
READ NEXT:
- Family 'still in limbo' seven months after Nottinghamshire man's cancer diagnosis
- 5 of Nottinghamshire's glorious waterside pubs and bars for a refreshing drink in the sun
- Closure on busy Nottinghamshire road to last three weeks during sewer works
- Letters: 'Hopefully Lister Gate plans can make it back to what it was'
- Drug dealer jailed after his 'bad driving' led to van stop
