TOWN hall bosses have lifted the lid on why an ‘important’ Oldham link road keeps being hit by severe flooding, writes Charlotte Green, local democracy reporter.
In a picture shared by the local authority, the road resembles a river with the pavements on both side completely submerged in water.
At a meeting of the borough’s full council, Royton South councillor Steven Bashforth quizzed bosses about what was being done to sort out the ‘increasingly serious problem’.
“Can I ask why Salmon Fields Road is flooding so much when it rains so heavily these days?” he said.
“It seems to be having to be closed on a very regular basis, and this is the main feeder road to the Salmon Fields industrial estate, Moss Lane industrial estate and is an important bypass for Turf Lane.
“Can we find out who is responsible for water control here so we can resolve this increasingly serious problem?”
Cllr Mohon Ali, deputy cabinet member for neighbourhood services, told the chamber floodwater is coming from council-owned land next to the road, which was the route of a former railway line.
“This former railway line was served by a drainage system which is now failing and causing water to surcharge onto the highway during periods of heavy rain,” he said.
“The council is currently undertaking emergency works which will help to alleviate the flooding at this location in the short-term to medium term. A scheme is being progressed also to identify a long-term solution.”