A HARLOW Conservative councillor has questioned whether the Newhall housing development was to blame for the recent flooding of Churchgate Street in Old Harlow.

A statement on the Newhall Projects Limited Facebook page, went into great details to assert that the “sustainable urban drainage system” kicked into place when the floods came.

You can read their statement below.

But a number of people have wondered whether one of the factors behind the flooding was the development of new housing near Churchgate Street.

Amongst those include Netteswell councillor Colleen Morrison.

Before she was a councillor, Ms Morrison took a great interest in many environmental matters across the town. Her letter frequently appeared in the Harlow Star.

Councillor Morrison told YH.

“It isn’t just rainwater runoff from the fields around Newhall that floods Churchgate Street.

Newhall and Church Langley’s Sustainable Urban Drainage System (SUDS) pumps water from the Newhall reed beds and the fields and the stream that runs through Newhall into Harlowbury brook at Churchgate Street.

“That’s caused relentless flooding of Churchgate Street and Sheering Road for years. The SUDS also floods Gilden Way”.

=============

Statement from Newhall Projects Limited: “We hope you are all safe and well. We are aware of the extreme weather and flash floods that affected Newhall yesterday, causing concern and disruption for many of you.

You will be pleased to know that the long term planning of the sustainable urban drainage system (SUDS) built into the masterplanning design worked well and as intended in these situations. The water so far as we are aware took the extreme weather event water safely away from properties and down the valley to the balancing attenuation ponds where it is held back and released at a controlled rate down stream.

We have attached a couple of images, which show Newhall Lake, where the flood water flows to and slowly drains in a controlled way. The second image is taken from the original Newhall Masterplan, showing the lake and some of the balancing ponds, which are designed to control the flow of water away from homes.

We want to assure you that we are taking the situation seriously and our landscaping partners Majestic Garden Services have already begun working to clean up and restore the affected areas.

We understand that the damage caused by the floods can be difficult to witness, but we are doing everything we can to ensure that those impacted by the event are supported. We are working hard to ensure that the cleanup and restoration efforts are carried out quickly and effectively.

We are also closely monitoring the situation to prevent any further damage or risk to the community. Your safety and well-being are our top priority, and we will keep you informed as we work through this situation together.

Please report estate issues to Dominic in the usual way using [email protected] and we will get back to you as soon as possible. Please be patient as we are dealing with a higher number of enquiries than usual.

If the issue is to do with your property then you will need to contact your house builder, landlord, NHBC or your building insurance company.

“Thank you for your patience and understanding as we work to restore our community to its full potential”.