RAINS of biblical proportions on Sunday, January 27 exacerbated problems residents of Treledan housing estate in Saltash are experiencing with flooding.

Houses built in the first phase of the development on the 300 acre site of farmland at Broadmoor by developer Barratt Homes are experiencing flooding in gardens making them unusable.

Even a playpark and the roads around the houses were under water during the recent storms; something residents say is a regular occurrence.

Contractor Jake Gavin was playing with his son at the playpark when we visited, both in their wellington boots. He used to farm the land and says it was even soft in the summer, the ground was that boggy.

He has bought a house on a corner of the estate near the main park which was waterlogged and says their garden is useless a lot of the time due to the poor drainage in the area.

Jake said: “In the summer it was renowned for being quite soft ground, and there was quite a few occasions, with large machinery like combines would have to get towed out.

“The last 24 hours have been very biblical but it holds water something horrific. We’re stood in wellies; a lot of places are struggling with holding water at the minute.

“We have brought a property and we can’t use our front garden because it gets that wet. You could put drainage in but it’s just the ground they built on really.

“Further across, where phase three is, it gets a little bit better the whole of Broadmoor is quite soft ground.”

Other residents gardens have been flooded in the estate, which is currently on the second phase of four, and will see 1,000 new homes built on the edge of the town. Some have had work completed by the developer to retro-install French drains to mitigate the flooding - some having to wait years for the works to be completed, or needing drainage work repeated.

Residents of Carkeel Barns were well aware of the issues with drainage on the land have made numerous representations during the planning application process. They say the developer continued with the development of the site despite information on the condition of the ground being presented to planning officers at Cornwall Council.

Comments on the Cornwall Council planning portal show a map of springs under the site from an environmental statement from 1997 when plans to develop a business park at Broadmoor were being investigated, as well as statements from a local resident pointing out the poor soakaway, and the subsurface of the ground being clay based which “does not lend itself to absorbing water well”.

Even an engineered attenuation pond installed below the main road from Carkeel during the first build phase, which is designed to temporarily hold and gradually release water to prevent flooding during heavy rainfall looked redundant after the storms, while the surrounding areas stood under water.

Residents, fed up with waiting for the developer have resorted to trying to sort the problem themselves, are looking for compensation from Barratt Homes.

Tracey Tucker, has only lived in her home on the estate for a short time, and is having to undertake work at considerable expense to allow her dogs to use their garden. She said: “We are bitterly disappointed by the garden areas and have become aware that this is a common problem throughout the Treledan site.

“We queried this during the build stage of our new home, and we were advised it had only been a problem for a small number of properties with north facing gardens at the start of the development. This was not true.

“I can only describe our garden as a 'swamp bog'! When it rains, water collects and sits on the surface of the grass as though it was a pavement. No drainage has been supplied and you can literally peel back the turf to expose rubble abutting the property.

She continues: “It is depressing to look out of the house and neither my partner nor myself even want to go into the 'bog'. We feel we have been forced into having a large patio area installed at a considerable expense much sooner than anticipated, as due to having pets, the situation is intolerable and unliveable.

“I am extremely disappointed at the poor quality and care taken by the landscaping and planning team of Barratt Homes and believe residents deserve some form of compensation for the avoidable stress and issues they have been subjected to. And yes, I 100 percent feel that residents who have paid themselves should receive compensation.”

Another resident, who wished to remain anonymous, commented: “The developers knew they were building on an area that was marshy and flooded. They also knew that they needed to put drains in place to clear it but they were desperate to reach the times for the contracts and move people in so corners were cut. Same with all house developers.”

A spokesperson for Barratt Homes said: “As with all of our developments the design was approved by the Council/Local Planning Authority as part of the planning process. This included in-depth studies into the drainage needs.

“Since then, because of reports of water retention in some of the gardens we have installed additional drainage and will continue to do this where it is needed.

“The play area was built based on ground surveys which showed water levels were more than a metre below the surface. However, we recognise that recent heavy rainfall has caused water pooling, and we are actively looking into this.

“We will carry out a survey to confirm the work was completed as designed and then assess whether any further drainage improvements are needed.”

“We are confident the steps we have taken, including installing additional drainage, will help to address the site’s condition. However, we will continue to review any future concerns and can provide additional works if needed.”