THE water has gone from Murray Wilson’s home. The damp, he fears, has not.

For the best part of a decade the 52-year-old lived with the constant threat of flooding. Over and over again his basement filled with dirty water. Over and over again he had to pump it out. 

A  day or two after every wet day a pool formed under Wilson’s house. Eventually, he installed two automatic sump pumps to keep his home dry, as far as he could.

But even that could not stop the stench. 

The property, he told The Herald two years ago, always “smelled like a rain”.
Wilson was unlucky. His sturdy former local authority semi in Cambuslang sits at the bottom of a hill that was once covered with grass and trees and sponged up the damp. 

Ten years ago, the high ground was developed and turned in to a smart new estate, known locally as the Hawthorns. That is when the water started hitting hard surfaces, not grass and trees, and cascaded down the brae, not on the surface like a river but through the ground. 

The Herald:

Engineers discovered where the water was coming from using dye. That began a lengthy bureaucratic saga – delays to the formal adoption of roads, drains and sewers on the new estate – that has only now come to an end.

The residents of the Hawthorns spent a decade in legal limbo, like an estimated 20,000 Scots who, as of 2019, lived on unadopted roads or streets. 

That means many residents are living for years on de facto “private” roads while developers unsnag problems with drains, lighting and surfaces. Wilson and others felt sorry for neighbours in the Hawthorns. Now at least their living arrangements are being normalised. 

Houseseller ‘discounts’

THE Cambuslang case was highlighted two years ago by the former MSP James Kelly amid concerns about slow adoptions. In England, campaigners believe similar problems were forcing house sellers to offer discounts. 

“The experience of locals in Cambuslang shines a light on the issue of how ‘unadopted’ roads can disrupt the lives of people in neighbouring streets in established communities,” said Kelly.

“It is clear the problem is becoming more widespread and houses are being erected without proper consideration being given to the surrounding infrastructure.”

Even so, it rarely takes as long as a decade for councils to adopt roads and their drains.

South Lanarkshire Council has confirmed that it recently took over the maintenance and ownership of Hawthorn Avenue and Hawthorn Way above Wilson’s home, which is on Eastfield Avenue. 

Scottish Water says it expects a new drainage pipe, which takes the water from the hill down to the local Eastfield burn, will be passed to its custody. The ordeal of red tape is over. But not for Wilson. He has still to live with the damage caused by the repeated flooding.

“A lot of work has been done, a filter trench has been dug out, and there have been add-ons to the sewers. The drainage is now managed differently,” Wilson said.

“I can say that I am a 100 times better off  than I was before as regards the level of the water. The  improvements they made have definitely worked. There have had a few heavy downpours recently. There was nothing to see afterwords, even with my dipstick. The automatic sump pumps have not gone off for a year-and-a-half or more.”

Problems

THE problems for the residents of the Hawthorns may be over. But Wilson still feels in limbo because he does not think his home – where has spent three of his five decades–  is sellable. He does not want to move. But he does want to leave his house to his only child when he dies.

“I definitely won’t be able to sell my house,” he said.

“If anything happens to me and my daughter has to sell it it would one worthless – it has been flooded so many times and everybody in the neighbourhood knows what has been happening.

“It happened to neighbours too but it was always worse at my property. It is the foundations I am worried about. You can see the damage to my garage. And I am quite frightened it is going to collapse.”

Wilson said he believed he has been “bypassed”, forgotten, and does not believe the roads and sewers should have been signed off to the public sector until his issues were resolved. 

“The developers should make good the damage done to the base of my house and hopefully offer compensation for the upset it has caused for the past 11 years.”

Resolution?

THE Hawthorns was built It has Barratt Developments. They long stressed that it has worked hard to resolve issues “offsite”. Engineering sources stress it can take years to figure out where water is coming from and what effects hard-surfacing a development can have on neighbouring areas. 

South Lanarkshire Council head of roads and transportation Colin Park said: “I can confirm that we have now adopted both roads, Hawthorn Way and Hawthorn Avenue.

“The required drainage works were completed around two years ago and we have since worked with the developer to ensure further minor remedial works were completed to the standard we require for adopting a road.”

A Scottish Water spokesman said: “Scottish Water is completing some remedial work on a surface water pipe nearby. Subject to final checks, we anticipate this will be vested (taken into Scottish Water ownership) shortly.”

A spokeswoman for the Barratt Developments left the prospect of dialogue with Wilson open. “As a five-star housebuilder we are committed to building high-quality homes and communities. In Cambuslang, we have worked closely with both residents and authorities to address the issues caused by excess surface water,” she said.

“As a result of this, we’re pleased to confirm that the roads and drainage have now been fully adopted, and that the surface water pipes are set to be adopted soon. If residents have any further concerns we are happy to help address them.”