A water leak in a South Manchester street has taken 10 weeks to fix. The leak on Barlow Moor Road, between Linden Road and Elm Road in Didsbury, was first reported on July 8, according to one local councillor.
However, United Utilities only fixed the leak last Friday (September 16). The water company needed a council permit to close a lane on the busy A-road and temporarily suspend a bus stop while repairs were carried out.
But the Local Democracy Reporting Service understands that the town hall only received the application for a permit from United Utilities last week. Didsbury West councillor John Leech said the delay was 'not acceptable'.
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He said: "They have no justification for leaving it 10 weeks before fixing it. I think it reflects very badly on water companies that they think it's acceptable to leave a leak for that length of time.
"In some parts of the country people have been subject to hosepipe bans. It's just simply not acceptable at all – they can't even attempt to justify it."
A spokesperson for United Utilities confirmed that the repairs to the leak on Barlow Moor Road were carried out on September 16 and completed that day. The water company apologised for any inconvenience caused, but explained that the location of the leak meant that permits were required to do the work.
However, the Local Democracy Reporting Service understands that United Utilities applied for the permit on September 16, the same day it was used.
When asked to respond to this, the spokesperson added: "We always try to respond to leaks as quickly as we can and we are currently repairing more than 700 a week but with over 40,000km of water pipes across the North West, we sometimes have to prioritise repairs based on a number of factors. We are always grateful when the public report a leak to us and it’s now even easier to do so through our app, which allows you to take a picture of the leak and pinpoints its location."
A Manchester council spokesperson said: "The council can confirm a permit was applied for by United Utilities, dated September 16, 2022, to allow for repair works to take place in this road. The council will continue to liaise with [United Utilities] on the course of its repair works."
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