Raunds flooding compensation fight continues as work to solve drainage continues

A Raunds family flooded out of their home twice in the space of 19 weeks hope that work taking place will alleviate further catastrophic damage to their home.

But the have still to receive full compensation for their losses.

Newlyweds Helen and Ashley Northway will spend the anniversary of the first of the devastating 2020 floods in their North Street house that has been stripped bare after the second that took place just before Christmas last year - a mere 129 days later.

Floods that ripped through the county on August 16 last year left seven inches of sewer water in the home they share with her eight-year-old disabled son Archie and 88-year-old grandma June Norman, but worse was yet to come as Helen battled for answers from agencies as to who was responsible for the drainage failure.

Still reeling from the August flood and £38,000 out of pocket, the family was forced to seek shelter as yet another intense rainstorm hit the area on the afternoon of December 23 - this time far worse with metre-high 'black' sewer water engulfing the stone-built 17th Century former farmhouse.

Mrs Northway said: "The water was coming through the walls. The pressure of the water literally blew the (front) door open. The manhole covers blew.

"After the August 16th floods Highways and Anglian Water identified the storm water gullies (drains in the road surface) were attached to the foul water drains - that they were misconnected.

"At the time of the Christmas flood Highways were aware that two and half years ago a developer's vehicle had smashed a culvert at the top of Brick Kiln Road forcing water on to the road. They were aware of this had done nothing.

"Highways should have repaired the culvert."

The North Street property is in a natural dip and has become the natural end point for surface water unable to use the damaged culvert.

During heavy rain surface water cascades down the incline of Brick Kiln Road, pooling and pouring the length of North Street.

Flooding has dogged the area around North Street, Rotten Row and Brick Kiln Road for many years but the problem has reached crisis levels since a major housing development of more than 400 new homes.

With the waste water from the homes being transported in narrow pipes to the Victorian sewer system - a system that has been found to be misconnected by an underground CCTV survey - the volume of water that in sustained heavy rain is too great for the flawed drainage system to cope with.

Mrs Northway, 41, said: "All the dirty water, sewage and waste water from 400 plus homes is coming through just two 110mm pipes.

"We have been told that the foul water pipe and the water pipe have been misconnected

An Anglian Water investigation on August 18 last year had identified many of the issues.

The report, seen by our reporter, said: "Investigations into surface water system identified non AW (Anglian Water) responsibility road gullies blocked on both inlet and outlet.

"Also gully at the side of neighbouring property is cross connected into foul water sewer.

"Culverts and ditch lines down Brick Kiln Road are poorly maintained. Culverts not running at all and causing ditch line to over fill and run down to North Street and believe this to be causing foul water sewer to become overloaded due to cross connected surface water gullies."

Despite the problem being highlighted, work ordered by Northamptonshire Highways only began on rectifying the multiple problems last month.

The culvert has been lined with new pipes to funnel rain water into a ditch and on to the nearby brook to pass into the river system.

New gullies will be installed, the foul water pipe is to be connected correctly and two 10m deep by 2.5 m wide soakaways are being constructed.

A soakaway is a concrete chamber set in the ground, filled with coarse stone and rubble which allows surface water to naturally filter back in to the earth. They are a traditional and effective way of disposing of highway surface water which cannot be funnelled to a river or surface water system.

The Northway's neighbour, Glenvil Greenwood-Smith's home was flooded in 1988 with the garden being submerged in subsequent events but thanks to being on higher ground and by installing his own flood defences the property has largely remained untouched.

Due to the history of flooding Helen had been unable to get insurance, and Mr Greenwood-Smith's premium has rocketed and he is not convinced that the measures will completely solve the issue..

He said: "After the floods my insurance premium went up by 40 per cent.

"They are building a soakaway on the green outside - any water that comes down will not dissipate - it will just disappear quicker - where's the water going? I don't think that it is going to solve the problem."

The Northway's house is still seeping water from the walls, with black and white mould growing. Nearly all of her downstairs furniture was damaged beyond repair. Archie's Pokémon card collection was destroyed as were all of family's photos. The kitchen has been ripped out and the home's electrics need replacing.

June Norman, 88, whose ground floor annex was submerged by the floods, now has to use an upstairs bedroom.

Mrs Northway said: "My grandmother has to climb the stairs on her hands and knees. She shouldn't have to do that."

"We are living on tenterhooks each time it rains. One whole day of our honeymoon was planning to rush back because it rained a whole day."

The family is seeking compensation from Northamptonshire Highways to pay for the damage to the home, a bill that will run to an estimated £300,000 to be added to the cost of the flood mitigation works of at least £230,000.

Mrs Northway said: "We have been compensated with £7,000 from the Highways' insurance.

"There are times when we're in tears with frustration and desperation. We are pretty resilient people but there have been some pretty crappy days.

"Through all that time not one person has asked 'how are you?' Sometimes we are not OK."

Mr Northway, a retired army sergeant major and bomb disposal expert, said: "It's an emotional rollercoaster. We're no further forward. Every time it rains we have to put everything in place - we're just broken. It's the sheer lack of communication."

Mrs Northway added: "We'll always be known as the house that floods. It's affected the whole community and we've battled for everyone. We just want our home back."

A North Northants Council spokesperson said: “We are aware of a claim which is currently under investigation. We are liaising with the complainant and considering the basis for their claim.

“As this is an active investigation we are unable to comment further or provide publicly any further details at this stage.”