Busy road junction floods - again!

Reporter: Jan Harwood
Date online: 30/09/2008

Despite numerous attempts over the past year to solve the flooding problem at the Bury Road / Mellor Street junction, this evening the road is heavily flooded once more following today's heavy rain.

The water level outside CTV Services, a business that suffers every time the junction floods, is almost a foot deep.

In February this year the Environment Agency inspected the junction after nearby businesses, including Rochdale Online, voiced their concerns at the regularly occuring problem.

A spokesman said that the issue would be closely investigated and the Environment Agency would liase with United Utilities in a bid to solve the problem.

Nearly eight months on and cars still find themselves speeding through flood water whenever the town is hit by heavy rain and there is no hope for any pedestrians trying to cross the junction.

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UPDATE

Following further heavy rain over night the junction remains heavily flooded this morning and members of staff at CTV have their wellies on once more. Their front door remains closed with staff wading through the floods to gain access via the side door on Mellor Street.

Rochdale's MP Paul Rowen has vowed to try and get the problem sorted out once and for all. He said: "My office has been in touch with the Council today on this issue to minimalise disruption. In the longer term, the Council have now produced a report looking at options to deal with this problem and I have asked for a meeting to look at their findings at the Council's earliest opportunity.

"It's important that we bring all the stakeholders together and bring forward and implement a solution that will sort this problem out once and for all. I have involved the Environment Agency, United Utilities and the Council in discussions and will be forwarding the report when I receive it to CTV, Mellor Street Garages and Rochdale Online for their thoughts.

"This has gone on far too long and today's problems have been a wake up call to the authorities who need to act and sort this out once and for all."