Sewage floods housing site in Nairn amidst opposition against new planning development

AN open space on a new housing site sold by Nairn councillor Liz McDonald to developers Springfield has been flooded with sewage.

Morton Gillespie (74) a retired project manager of Lochloy Road woke on Wednesday morning to find sewage encroaching on his garden from a large area of amenity ground at the end of a cul de sac in Averon Street which was submerged with waste water.

The site was the subject of objections from Nairn River Community Council and neighbours who warned of the risks of flooding.

But the planning application was approved on the casting vote of South Planning Area Committee Chairman Jimmy Gray.

Objectors feared there was insufficient infrastructure, potential for drainage problems and the 113 houses would add to the existing traffic problems on Lochloy Road and its access to the A96.

Mr Gillespie said: "I understand a pump in the sewage system failed and the water was backing up from the amenity space into my garden which is on low lying ground.

"Workers came in to clear the blockage. But how long will it be before it happens again. We didn't even have particularly heavy rainfall during the night.The smell was awful.

"We warned them this would happen and they wouldn't listen. We raised the issue of the pumping system for sewage and they assured us it wouldn't fail. So much for these assurances. And we were told there would be alarm systems in place if it was failing. So what happened? Have these alarms been fitted?

"The application was opposed by Laurie Fraser and supported by Tom Heggie and passed on the casting vote of the Chairman Jimmy Gray.

"It was said there was a need for more social housing. Most of the properties of course are private. The social housing is tucked away from access to local bus routes and there are absolutely no services at Springfield's Lochloy Development where 1000 houses have been built.

"I would be interested to know what impact this had on the council's social housing waiting list. People without cars are a long way from schools and shops."

Mr Gillespie has emailed all four local councillors advising them of the flooding incident which encroached into gardens of houses on Lochloy Road.

"It's a great pity that the planning committee did not accept the concerns of Nairn residents and allowed this development to proceed.

"The lesson to be learned for the future is listen to the people of Nairn rather than remote specialists."

Mr Gillespie said: "I certainly hope they will be clearing this mess up."

A spokesperson for Springfield Properties, said: “We were made aware of a spillage which affected the garden of a private home, next to our Meadowlea development.

"The mess was cleared immediately, and we apologised to the resident impacted.

"The pumping station is now working well, however we will continue to monitor it closely and further investigate why the system failed so that we can ensure that this does not happen again.”

Nairn River CC Hamish Bain said in their submission to the planning application they said Nairn roads, sewers and water supply infrastructure were way beyond capacity and require urgent investment and new pipework at Kingsteps would feed into the old sewer network which was already not coping. Water pressure was also a problem in the Lochloy area.

Mr Bain added: "It is dreadful that the residents of this area have to suffer from The Highland Council and Springfield ignoring local knowledge, but that is not new. We told you so."

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