One man in a boat makes a point about field floods
weekend, but he added: “If it pours down tomorrow, it will spread to my place. I’m ready to start a boating lake and earn a bit of money!”
Residents and local councillors argue that the flooding relates to large-scale housing development at Lindley Moor. Hundreds of homes are being built in fields alongside Lindley Moor Road.
Officials at amateur rugby league club Lindley Swifts called for urgent action to tackle the issue after the Kirklees Council-owned playing fields were severely flooded last November.
Jake said following that incident, workmen dug a trench to channel rainwater from the playing fields into a large drain.
But he said on Monday that the 25-yard long trench had since been backfilled, leaving the rainwater with nowhere to go.
He said digging the trench was “the perfect thing to do” but said a permanent drainage pipe should have been laid before the trench was backfilled. “It would only take a morning’s work for a digger with a narrow shovel to dig the channel again.”
He added: “It doesn’t just spoil things for the footballers and rugby players, there’s a copse of trees where youngsters play and the flooding is deepest there.”
Gemma Wilson, Conservative councillor for Lindley, said she had referred the latest incident to council officers.
“It is something I have been speaking to the council about quite a few times,” she said. “This is an effect of the building which is spoiling the landscape for local people. There have been enormous problems with flooding but the views of local people don’t seem to be listened to.” RIVER levels are rising ahead of further rain forecast.
The River Colne at Marsden is already above the ‘flooding is possible’ level of 0.53m.
Yesterday localised flooding caused problems on the rail lines through Marsden but there have been no reported issues elsewhere.
The river in the village has been higher than usual on three of the previous four days, with the river 0.74m at its height.
It comes as Kirklees councillors will meet to discuss local flood procedures and compare Kirklees’ policies to those in Calderdale, where heavy flooding has occurred in recent years and where there is a proactive community response.
In Kirklees the areas most at risk of flooding are Marsden, Milnsbridge, Holmfirth, New Mill, Leeds Road, Mirfield and Ravensthorpe.
And with more torrential rain on the forecast, here’s an overview of the latest on local river levels: ■■River Colne at Colne Bridge: the level rose from 0.6m to 0.83m in four hours on Monday - some way off the 1m ‘flooding is possible level’. ■■River Holme at Queen’s Mill: the level is some way off the ‘flooding is possible’ level of 1.20m, but on Monday alone it rose from 0.49m to 0.86m in six hours. ■■River Calder at Mirfield: the level at 1.30pm on Monday was 1m below the ‘flooding is possible’ level. Mirfield Town Council is holding a discussion on flooding at its meeting on Tuesday, September 19.
River Calder, Brighouse: it’s just 3 millimetres below the flooding risk of 0.80m.
Councillors are expected to discuss Kirklees’ approach next Monday.