Water is continuing to pour down Stansted’s Grove Hill as residents battle to get the leak plugged.
MP Kemi Badenoch has waded into the issue, calling on Stansted’s Essex county councillor Ray Gooding to keep her updated with developments as Essex Highways tries to identify the source of the leak and get it fixed.
At Stansted Parish Council last Wednesday (April 10), chair Cllr Maureen Caton said that Cllr Gooding was trying to co-ordinate a joint agency approach with Thames Water and the Environment Agency to resolve the issue.
Thames Water had visited the site, said the water was not coming from a mains supply and concluded it was an Essex Highways issue, she added. “They are arguing among themselves and no-one is taking responsibility.”
Meanwhile, residents are becoming increasingly concerned at the damage being caused to their homes and the road.
Diane Macfarlane, whose house is next to the pothole where from water is flowing, said highways previously found the drain to be blocked with a large slab of concrete, but removing it “was not a priority”.
In a letter to Mrs Badenoch, the Conservative MP for Saffron Walden constituency, she said: “The water is constantly flowing. It is clean water. It flows day and night along the road, carrying broken material from the road surface, creating potholes and leaving debris all over the pavement and filling the gutters.
“The traffic passing splashes pedestrians and any large vehicles splash the houses and businesses lining lower Grove Hill and Lower Street.
“The owner of The Cork House has reported that his building, which is partly below road level, is suffering from water ingress which is damaging the structure of the listed building.
“I don’t know who to ask for help. The water is coming from somewhere, but no-one wants to take responsibility. The HGV nuisance continues unabated and the county council don’t regard our issues a priority. We need agencies to engage and to talk to each other. Can you help us, please?”
Grove Hill resident Andrew McDonnell said the issue of lorries flouting weight restrictions on the road had also still not been addressed.
He also wrote to Mrs Badenoch: “Please can you intervene and help resolve the serious issues that residents of Stansted have been facing day in, day out for years?
“Over two years ago, a scheme was promised to rid the village of the dangerous HGV problem. This has stalled. We need your intervention again to get this moving again.”