Playing fields now truly flooded

hundreds of houses in neighbouring fields off Crosland Road and Lindley Moor Road.

Surveying the scene this week, Jake said: “I’m waiting for it to come up to the door – then I can rename the place Lakeside and I can sail away for a year and a day!”

Lindley Lib Dem councillors Cahal Burke and Richard Eastwood said the site at Lindley Moor had seen significant flooding issues in recent years.

Flooding had resulted in the sports pitches being unable to be used at times – with amateur rugby league club Lindley Swifts, who lease the fields from Kirklees Council, having to concede fixtures because they were unable to train there.

Clr Burke said that while there had been issues of flooding in the past, in large part because the land is clay, many locals argued that the flooding had been more of a problem in recent years with the nearby developments exacerbating the problem.

One suggested remedy was to create a bund on the perimeter of the site to act as a flood barrier and to alleviate water run-off into the fields.

Clr Burke branded the situation “absolutely ridiculous.”

He said: “We need action and a solution to this as soon as possible because flooding continues to be a concern for local residents and users of Heatherleigh recreation ground.

“It’s difficult to know exactly why the flooding has got worse in recent years. There needs to be work done urgently to ascertain whether the flooding is linked to the nearby developments or whether there are other causes.

“I will continue to liaise with council officers and also listen to local residents and users. In developing a solution, I would also welcome input from the local developers. I hope we can identify money to carry out some assessments at the site sooner rather than later.”

Kirklees Council has been asked by the Examiner to comment but has not yet responded.