Corby residents voice growing concerns as neglected brook threatens gardens

Residents of a Corby street are living in fear that their gardens will collapse into a brook which has not been maintained by Homes England.

The brook travels along the rear of a number of homes in Stephenson Way, where it has over the years been creeping closer and closer towards the properties.

According to residents, the last time anyone had been out to work on the brook was at least 15 years ago. At this time, Homes England were not responsible for the brook.

The residents had been trying to find out who the brook belonged to up until a couple of weeks ago when many of them received a letter from Homes England.

The letter complained that household waste is being discarded onto Homes England land.

The letter the residents received from The Environment Partnership (TEP) read:

From recent surveys, it is evident that household waste including items of furniture and refuse is being discarded onto Homes England land. This is an issue that Homes England take very seriously, as the presence of fly tipping can often lead to further problems such as vermin and other environmental issues.

With the above in mind, please remove any materials you are storing or have disposed of within the above boundary at your earliest opportunity. Any further evidence of household waste being littered onto Homes England land will be dealt with as a criminal offence as set out in section 33 (1)(a) of the Environmental Protection Act 1990.

The site will continue to be monitored on a regular basis.

Yours faithfully

William Clow

Landscape Manager

TEP

The letter has given residents, for the first time in many years, an indication as to who is responsible for maintenance of the brook.

Residents were not happy about the contents of the letter however, given the situation of the brook.

Kerry Davidson of Stephenson Way said: “I was fuming. How can you justify sending us all these letters and not take responsibility to sort the land out?

“The bank is giving way and we’re losing land. We’re losing so much, it’s only the roots that are holding on. Everyone else is losing land as well.

“Every year, every summer, I freak out. Especially last year when we had that weather, I panic every time because it will just go like that.”

Kerry and husband Steven have already had to move their fence back to compensate for the closing in of the brook.

And they’re not the only residents facing problems, Sharon McClair of Stephenson Way said: “The whole garden is collapsing into the brook.

“It’s not going to be long now because look how much it’s come away from the shed and it’s falling.

“I want them to come and sort it out, come and sort something out. It’s not just me, it’s all these people all the way along. This is just the worst bit I think, because it’s on the corner.

“All the time now [it’s a worry].”

The issue was brought up in the residents group agenda, on Monday (April 3) in Stephenson Way Community Centre.

Cllr Mark Pengelly said: “As a council we’ve been trying to find out the ownership of the land where the fence panels are for several years.

“So we were pleased when residents got a letter last week on a separate issue from Homes England saying that they were responsible for that land.

“It gave us an inroad to get the issue sorted. People are losing their gardens due to the deterioration of the banks.

“I trust Homes England, who are a government agency, will get this matter sorted for the good residents of Stephenson Way as soon as possible.”

Homes England have been contacted for comment but have not yet responded.