Stratford residents relief as end in sight for ‘disruptive’ Blackthorn Road work

RESIDENTS on a Stratford street have been left angry and frustrated after suffering more than two months of disruption as sewer work was carried out in their road.

Maintenance work by Severn Trent on Blackthorn Road began on 23rd April to fix what residents were told was a sewage drain which had collapsed after heavy rain.

Initially, the residents said they were told the work would take 10 days but that timeframe slipped and they were left to deal with a lengthy road closure and the sound of a diesel-fulled pump working 24-7.

While work is finally due to be completed this week, residents told the Herald they had suffered significant disruption and poor communication from Severn Trent.

One resident, who wished to remain anonymous, said they had to chase Severn Trent for information with written confirmation about the work only arriving on 30th May - more than a month after work started.

There was also concern that the worksite blocked vehicle access to two properties - something residents were not made aware would happen - and claims there were workers smoking on the site. This was raised with the Health and Safety Executive.

The resident said the work seemed to progress slowly and some was so disruptive, such as compacting, it resulted in the couple feeling they were unable to stay in their home.

They told the Herald: “Our house was shaking because they were compacting the gravel back into the road. I ended up with quite a bad headache as a result and there was no way we could stay in the house because it was so disruptive.

“At least if we were given some kind of notification that this was about to happen, about how they were going to commence road reinstatement and compact the aggregate into the road, we could have expected it and made plans to leave the house while it was going on. But we didn’t and Sunday (29th June) was dreadful.”

The resident added that over the course of the work she and other residents struggled to get information out of Severn Trent.

“They seemed to have very little concern for the impact of blocking people's driveways, particularly the driveway of someone who is elderly with some mobility issues.”

Another resident was disappointed with how much of the good weather they have missed out on as a result of the work taking longer than anticipated.

She said: “We've been told it will be finished this week. The tarmac has got to come in and then all the machinery’s gone. So it's just waiting for the tarmac and then everything hopefully will be gone.

“I feel we've lost half a summer because we can't really sit out in our garden because of the dust, dirt and the noise and smell of sewage. Hopefully that's it and it's done. It should never have to be done again.”

Seven Trent did act to install a quieter pump but residents said this process happened in the early hours of Sunday, 11th May, and was also disruptive.

A spokesperson for Severn Trent said: “We have a team working on Blackthorn Road carrying out emergency repairs on our network.

“We know that roadworks can be disruptive and would like to apologise for any inconvenience, but traffic management is essential in keeping our teams, and the local community safe as we work.

“Please be assured we're working as quickly as we can to get everything back to normal and we're thankful for residents' patience as we do this."

They also confirmed it had investigated reports of smoking and “this has been resolved”.