Success at Albert Road



Cllrs Shirley Varley and Judith Elliott on Albert Road

My colleagues Shirley Varley and Judith Elliott have been battling for many years with both Leeds City Council and Yorkshire Water to deal with flooding issues on Albert Road which has blighted resident’s lives for over a decade.

The problem related to a water drainage system which was not made big enough when Seven Hills School was built. The poor drainage system could not take the amount of water pouring into the system during periods of heavy rain and that left about a dozen homes struggling with flooding problems on a regular basis.

My colleagues took it up with the Council who claimed it was a Yorkshire Water problem. Yorkshire Water claimed it was down to the Council to sort it out and homes flooded regularly while responsibility was argued about. After over a decade of battling my colleagues finally persuaded Yorkshire Water to do the honourable thing and overhaul the water drainage system and this is to be done over the next month or so.

Often our campaigns are wide spreading covering hundreds and sometimes thousands of homes. In this case it about a dozen homes but we have pursued the right result with exactly the same vigour - pushing for a fair outcome for residents. Sometimes it seemed we were bashing our heads against a brick wall but - barring the occasional amnesia episode - we have finally managed to break the wall down and get things resolved. Congratulations to my colleagues and local residents for working together over the years to grind out a result.

On to the next campaign be it big or small!