Heavy rain and poor drainage causes fortnight of floodwater in east Belfast as residents unable to park and bins left uncollected
Strandburn Drive – in the Connsbrook area of the city just off the Holywood Road – was heavily flooded since the week of Halloween, when NI was battered with heavy rain and a yellow weather warning for wind.
One resident, Marlene (82), explained that many residents were unable to drive in or out of their homes, forcing some to park far away. Others had to walk through floodwater to access their properties.
Floodwater eventually spread over footpaths as well as roads, making it unsafe for pedestrians and residents walking their dogs.
She said that no one came to help or explain why it had happened, but all residents on the street repeatedly rang the Department for Infrastructure (DfI) to complain.
Despite the street being cleared this week, Marlene is worried that flooding could recur if the drains are not properly cleaned and maintained.
It comes as the area was also hit by another deluge following Tuesday’s yellow warning for rainfall.
Another resident, Ruth Kane, lives at the end of the affected area.
As many people couldn’t park outside their houses directly, it made the surrounding streets busier too, and she was forced to park further away from her own home with her child who has additional needs.
“They put new drainage just before my house, but didn’t put it here [the affected area],” she explained.
“But my whole point was that in this street the water runs down, so it wasn’t going into that new drainage, it was running down here and all surfacing.
“I’m no expert in drains, but it seems like there’s a lot of sludge, and a lot of all the gunky stuff has been left behind.”
The floodwater was eventually cleared on Wednesday morning by the DfI, with East Belfast MP and DUP leader Gavin Robinson noting that many houses were “badly affected by drainage issues following recent heavy rain”.
“Residents have been dealing with this for several weeks now, so I’ve also asked for a full investigation into the drainage capacity in the area to help prevent it recurring,” he said.
“Bins were missed because of the flooding, so Cllr Ruth Brooks has requested that Council arrange a collection once the road has been cleared.
“The combination of heavy rainfall and falling leaves has caused blocked drains and flooding in a number of areas across east Belfast.”
Flooding at Strandburn Drive, east Belfast. Photo credit: Gavin Robinson MP
Cllr Brooks, who works for Mr Robinson, told this newspaper that she was “a bit perplexed” by the issue.
“This has been an issue that has been ongoing for about two weeks now.
“Large parts of Sydenham experience repeated flooding issues, but we know there is a drain capacity issue, hence the new Sydenham pump station being developed.
“It’s probably worth noting that Belfast City Council’s leaf-clearance schedule has had to be extended as leaves are taking longer to fall.”
A Belfast City Council spokesperson confirmed that issue was reported by their crew on Wednesday morning.
“The bins will be collected after the street becomes accessible,” they continued.
“We ask residents to leave their bins out until they have been emptied and then return them to their properties once collection is complete.”
A DfI spokesperson said: “The Department received reports of surface water on Strandburn Drive following recent periods of heavy rain and staff attended today to clean and jet the gullies which has cleared the lying water.
“The Department aims to inspect and clean, where necessary, all gullies once annually. Further ad-hoc cleaning is also undertaken to address any specific localised issues as required, within available budgets, and in advance of and in response to severe weather events. In recognition of the importance of this area of work, Minister Kimmins has allocated further funding to deliver additional works in the form of cleaning and maintenance of drainage lines and manholes.”
