Work starts to improve Herefordshire road that gets flooded

Roger Sell and his fiancée, Janet Hewlett have had to ask neighbours to wash their clothes due to the problem outside their Grade Two listed black and white cottage, on the junction of the Marden, Moreton-on-Lugg and Sutton St Nicholas roads. 

Work started on the Marden to Moreton-on-Lugg road yesterday (April 29), with a closure in place from the A49 to Old Old School House until 3pm tomorrow (May 1). 

ALSO READ:

• Big spend planned to improve Herefordshire "accident waiting to happen"
•  These roads will be closed as May Fair returns to Herefordshire
• Why are we paying when we can't park in these Hereford streets?

A letter sent to residents from Balfour Beatty Living Places said the firm needed to close the road due to carrying out repairs to the highway.

It added that a fully signed diversion route would be in place via the C1120 Moreton-on-Lugg/Marden/C1122/A49 and vice versa. 

"We will do all we can to provide vehicular access to properties, although there may be times when we are not able to do so safely or there may be delays," the letter reads.

Roger Sell has been forced to use a portable toilet in his garden due to having no drainage (Image: Rob Davies)

"You can get help and guidance from the dedicated marshals on site."

However, Mr Sell said he was not informed about the work.  

"The work does not appear to be anywhere near us," he said. 

"Last week Balfour Beatty did come to expose drain heads in the area of the Old School junction. 

What are your thoughts?

You can send a letter to the editor to have your say by clicking here.

Letters should not exceed 250 words and local issues take precedence.

"Unfortunately, after the rain over the weekend, it is apparent that the drains are still blocked leaving nowhere for the rain water to go. So the problem still remains."

Earlier this month, Herefordshire Council said it had carried out work on the highway drainage system in the Marden area, however it identified that further work was needed to make longer-term improvements.

A spokesperson said: "We’ve had one of the wettest winters in decades with the ground across the county becoming heavily saturated as a result of the amount of rainfall since last autumn.

"This significant wet weather has led to land and watercourses struggling to absorb rainfall at times, which has then led to road and land flooding issues. Our teams have been working with affected communities to do what we can."