Owners of flooded Isham property accuse developer of executive home scheme

The Spencer's say the flooding at their home in The Sorrells has been caused by AP Lewis
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An Isham couple whose home has been hit by flooding say the cause is a nearby exclusive homes development.

Jo and Russ Spencer had to secure their home in The Sorrels with sandbags to hold back the torrent of water that hit them after a heavystorm on June 16 and then again the following day.

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The water was just inches from getting into their property and they say this was the first time in the 20 years they have been in their home that they have experienced any kind of flooding issue.

The flood water ran down on the Spencer's driveway (right).The flood water ran down on the Spencer's driveway (right).
The flood water ran down on the Spencer's driveway (right).

The couple say the cause is the development of executive homes being built by local builder AP Lewis on the village’s former allotment site at the end of their road.

The local highways authority has told the developer to come up with an urgent solution, but it has said it is going to carry out its own investigations to establish what is causing the flooding.

The Spencers have also been in contact with the developer on numerous occasions over the past few weeks to try and get them to remedy the situation but have not had any action so far.

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Jo said: “We had a lot of rain in a short time and within an hour the whole area was flooded.

A photo taken by the Spencer's after one hour of rain.A photo taken by the Spencer's after one hour of rain.
A photo taken by the Spencer's after one hour of rain.

It was running down our drive like a river. It came up to the top of the doorstep and to stop it getting into the property we had to put down sandbags and get the brushes out to push the water down a nearby manhole.”

The water got into their garage and has since affected the electric doors.

She continued: “To the best of our knowledge there is no surface drainage on the site at all. So the water is running down the road – it hits the brick wall and then runs towards our property.

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“We have never had an issue before but now are just waiting for the next heavy downpour and living in fear of when it could happen. Do we need to get the sand bags out? We dont want to go on holiday in case we are flooded.

The development is on the village's former allotment.The development is on the village's former allotment.
The development is on the village's former allotment.

The first response from Mr Lewis was, ‘ claim on your insurance’. They have also made us do all the running around to get the evidence. It is causing us unnecessary angst. I dont want to spend my time sending emails. There has been a lack of empathy and Mr Lewis is completely unaffected by the problem he has caused.”

To stop the water from getting into their property, Isham councillor Clive Hallam contacted Wellingborough Council’s environmental services contractor Wellingborough Norse and asked workers to bring down sandbags.

Two drains close to the end of the Spencers drive, that had originally been put in by AP Lewis have been tarmaced over to create a smooth ramp for owners in the new properties to access the site.

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There are two small pipes currently taking water from the unadopted road that leads into the new development. As part of the planning conditions before the development is completed there must be a surface water drainage scheme.

Cllr Hallam with Russ Spencer in front of his home.Cllr Hallam with Russ Spencer in front of his home.
Cllr Hallam with Russ Spencer in front of his home.

Wellingborough Council and the highways authority have become involved as have the water board.

The drainage system has been inspected by both the highways and water authorities and they say the sewage system is in good working order.

A spokesman for Northamptonshire County Council said: “We are working closely with the Borough Council of Wellingborough and partner authorities to understand the causes of the flooding to properties on The Sorrels in June.

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“Northamptonshire Highways and Anglian Water have inspected the existing adopted surface water drainage network that serves the affected properties and confirmed that it is in good working order.

“We are engaging with the developer of The Sorrels to secure an urgent temporary solution and to ensure that the final drainage scheme is completed in accordance with the approved details.”

Wellingborough Council said: “The local issues around flooding have been brought to our attention by local residents, and we thank them for their views and appreciate their need for an outcome that helps. As a result of this contact, the Borough Council has been collating information and potential ways forward and will be meeting with the highways team to secure the best plan possible to overcome the issues raised. We will keep residents notified.”

AP Lewis, which claims on its website to be Northamptonshire’s oldest builder disputes their development is the cause of the Spencer’s flooding issues.

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In a statement the builder said: “Since the incident we have been communicating with Mr & Mrs Spencer, we have informed them that we would investigate what occurred and that we would conclude our investigation one week after reports were received from Northamptonshire Highways and Anglian Water. Anglian Water have confirmed they do not have any surface water drains within the area.

There are two existing road gullies between 16 and 18 The Sorrels, that were not able to cope with the rainwater on 16th June 2020. On 3rd June, Mrs Spencer informed us that a CCTV survey of the existing drains serving these gullies was going to be carried out, which hasn’t been done yet. It is very important to establish the condition of the drains serving the existing gullies. We have spoken to Northamptonshire Highways and they have confirmed that they have not carried out a CCTV survey. Northamptonshire Highways have also advised us that these two gullies are not actually within adopted highway, so they are not sure if the two gullies in question have been cleaned as part of their maintenance programme or not.

Although this section of road is not adopted we understand that NCC Highways have renewed these gullies sometime between 2009 and 2016 and that they have probably been maintaining them, although their records have not been sent to us to confirm whether this is the case or not.

As Northamptonshire Highways or Anglian Water are not going to carry out a CCTV survey of the drains, we will seek the necessary permissions (if required) and commission a CCTV survey ourselves to fully understand the situation.

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We are constructing the new road in accordance with approved plans. The extended Sorrels road has been there for over two years and there have never been any other reports or concerns relating to flooding. We will conclude our investigate into this issue after all facts have been established.”

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