A developer has apologised two months on for flooding caused by construction work at its site which left homes uninhabitable and some residents thousands of pounds out of pocket. A large Severn Trent water pipe was damaged by contractors building student accommodation at the former Nottingham College campus on High Road, Chilwell, on Tuesday, March 7, which led to a large amount of water bursting onto nearby streets and homes for hours.
Homes in Gwenbrook Avenue and off High Road were the worst affected, with residents evacuated and roads becoming akin to fast-flowing streams. Those forced to leave their properties gathered at Christ Church Chilwell on College Road, while other residents tried to create makeshift barriers out of bins, tiles, and bags of soil to stop the water from spreading.
After two months of repeated attempts by Nottinghamshire Live to contact site owner ALB and calls for responsibility to be taken over the incident, the property developer has now confirmed the incident took place on its site and apologised. The company said it had handed over the site to a contractor at the time of the water pipe damage, but was conducting an investigation.
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A spokesperson at ALB said: “As site owner we apologise for the inconvenience and distress caused by this incident. However, we were not on site at the time as the site had been handed over to the contractor. We are investigating the position with the contractor and their insurers at present and cannot comment further until we have all the relevant information available to us.”
Some residents are still waiting to return to their homes two months after the flooding. Broxtowe Borough Council previously confirmed it was providing a discretionary council tax discount to properties affected by the flood.
It added council officers attended the incident on the day, speaking to residents to make sure they had accommodation and helping with some of the clean-up. The Health and Safety Executive, which is the regulator for workplace health and safety, has also been carrying out inquiries into the incident.
A meeting was held by residents at Christ Church on April 15, which was attended by representatives from Broxtowe Borough Council, Nottinghamshire Police, Nottinghamshire Fire and Rescue Service, Nottinghamshire County Council, and Broxtowe's Conservative MP Darren Henry. A second meeting is scheduled to take place at the church on June 10.
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