‘Unknown third party’ behind damage that caused flooding at park

The floods happened around Chorley New Road close to Old Station Park in Horwich over recent weeks.

United Utilities engineers hope to have solved the problem after being called out to complete repair works on Friday November 28.

A United Utilities spokespersons said: “An unknown third party had caused extensive damage to a section of surface water drains in Station Park.

“This meant that surface water was unable to drain away.

Old Station Park in Horwich (Image: Google Maps)

“As soon as the damage was located, a team attended to replace the damaged drain.  

“We apologise for any inconvenience caused and thank people for their patience while these investigations and repairs were completed.”

No further details have been released about the “third party” believed to have caused the damage.

Flooding has often been reported around Station Park in recent years with upgrades to flood defences having been carried out back in 2022.

There had been six reported flooding periods over a 20-year period, according to records that go back to 1964.

One of the most dramatic cases of flooding came on Boxing Day 2015 when several homes around Back Emmett Street were affected.

The concerns about flooding prompted the Environment Agency to approve the £1.8M flood basin project.

This was aimed at protecting around 200 homes in the area from flooding caused by exceptionally heavy rain.

Bolton Council said back in 2022 that they expected flooding issues to get worse over the coming years because of climate change.

During the most recent case of flooding, Bolton West MP Phil Brickell said that residents had raised concerns with him.

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He said that he had written to United Utilities and that he was confident the issue had been resolved but appealed for anyone with any concerns to contact him.

Mr Brickell said: “The flooding was being caused by a section of the surface water sewer being damaged, just before it connected to the culvert.

“Work to repair the pipe was carried out on Friday November 28.

“United Utilities are continuing to monitor the situation.”

Source – INDIA TV