Calls for “urgent summit” after flash flooding left raw sewage on Wrexham’s roads

Plaid Cymru councillors have called for an “urgent summit” amid concerns that large-scale new housing developments could increase flooding events in Wrexham.

It comes after heavy rainfall on Saturday (July 8) caused drains to overflow and raw sewage and human excrement to spill onto roads.

Streetscene staff at Wrexham Council were called to over 130 incidents within a seven hour period, including fallen trees, flooded roads and damage to buildings.

The volume of rainfall in a short period of time led to several homes being flooded, with one family having to be relocated to Llyndir Hall overnight due to their house being flooded out with sewage.

In another incident an 87-year-old woman had to be rescued by firefighters from her house – the third time this has happened this year.

The heavy rain also caused floods at the entrance to Wrexham Maelor Hospital.

Now Plaid Cymru councillors are calling for an “urgent summit” to discuss how to prevent similar incidents happening in future.

Plaid Cymru group leader Marc Jones said: “On Saturday, the torrential rain led to flash flooding. That’s the new reality of more extreme weather that we face but there is work that can be done to mitigate that.

“The feedback some of my councillors had was that residents whose homes were being flooded were fobbed off by the out-of-hours response from the council as they tried to access sandbags to stop the water from entering their homes.

“In some areas there was a game of pass the parcel between Dwr Cymru and the council about whose responsibility it was.

“Frankly, people don’t need that when they’re up to their ankles in sewage.

“There were councillors from many areas who reported repeated floods – including Cllr Annette Davies in Gwersyllt West who had human excrement, wet wipes and raw sewage flood her road for the third time in a month.

“There will be more incidents like this unless key partners get round a table to take responsibility for clearing culverts, blocked drains and ensuring there is adequate capacity.

“That includes the council’s Environment department, Dwr Cymru, Natural Resources Wales as well as the Fire and Rescue Service, which has had to be called in to deal with emergency situations.”

It has also raised wider concerns about infrastructure capacity to deal with the thousands of additional homes planned for Wrexham under the controversial and recently rejected Local Development Plan.

Cllr Kate Wilkinson, who represents the Offa ward, said plans for more than 1,500 new homes will “increase pressure on our creaking infrastructure.”

Cllr Wilkinson said: “Local residents have already pointed out that the fields Redrow propose to develop are already prone to flooding.

“Where does that water run off to if this plan goes ahead? Are we storing up bigger problems downstream if this is allowed to happen?

“Climate change and its impact on our communities means we have to look at the bigger picture in terms of the impact this will have on future generations, not just on developers’ short-term gains.”

Smithfield councillor Jon Jolley echoed those sentiments, stating: “Recent new builds in my ward have put additional pressure on the sewerage system, which doesn’t seem able to cope in some areas.

“That has led to the home of an 87-year-old woman being flooded on numerous occasions – and there are real concerns from her family about her future safety.

“Is the planning authority taking adequate account of changing environmental pressures and future proofing our communities from greater risk by permitting new housing without expanding the infrastructure sufficiently?”

The Plaid Cymru group is now calling for all the key partners to get round the table to ensure future extreme weather events don’t lead to the buck passing and confusion that some residents have faced over the weekend.

We have contacted Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board regarding the flooding at the Wrexham Maelor Hospital and are awaiting further comment.

You can read our coverage of Wrexham Council’s response to Saturday’s flooding here.

Featured image tweeted to @wrexham by Gwenfro Cllr Nigel Williams