Residents up in arms over disturbed sleep and crumbling roads
Tankers queue up to get into the Partington wastewater treatment works on Lock Lane. Image: Linda Jackson
Residents who say articulated tankers are thundering past their homes on their way to and from a wastewater treatment works in Partington in the dead of night have been told they may soon get some respite.
People living near the United Utilities facility on Lock Lane have been up in arms about the disruption from the ‘endless flow’ of heavy traffic past their homes in Forest Gardens 24/7.
Scores of the residents packed out a meeting of Partington Parish Council last week to register their anger.
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Stretford and Urmston MP Andrew Western also joined the campaign on the residents’ behalf and has said he has been told by UU’s chief executive Louise Beardmore that she has intervened to restrict tanker hours to outside of 10pm and 6am with a further restriction around pick-up and drop-off hours at two nearby primary schools.
The residents’ protests have been led by Linda Jackson, who told the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) that she felt like ‘the Erin Brockovich of Partington’.
Linda Jackson
She said that she had also written directly to Ms Beardmore and had received a phone call from the CEO apologising for the disruption caused by improvements taking place at the treatment works.
“All this has made me feel like the Erin Brockovich of Partington,” she said. “We’ve had tankers going past at all hours – including through the night – creating potholes and exposing the cobbles beneath the surface.
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“Lorries have been parked outside the schools and have been left ticking over. At 4.30 am one morning, one of my neighbours politely asked a driver to switch off his low-loader lights, and he was called an ‘effing old git’ and told to mind his own business.”
Ken Davies, 78, says he couldn’t sleep because of the lorries.
Ken Davies
“It’s been just horrendous,” he said. “I struggle to get to sleep, and then I hear a tanker bouncing down the road, and it keeps me awake.”
The chairman of Partington Parish Council is Coun Wayne Edwards. As residents crammed into the small cafe at the health centre where the meetings are held, he said: “The way it’s been handled by UU has been dreadful. We’ve been demanding an explanation for a long time as to why this is happening.
“To be parking outside people’s houses on tickover and churning up grass verges is unacceptable.”
Standing room only at the meeting of Partington Parish Council
Mr Western told the LDRS: “I am not surprised to see residents’ frustration with United Utilities escalating.
“It has been problem after problem across my constituency, from burst water mains, the constant roadworks, particularly on Manchester Road, and massive disruptions to their water supply and daily lives. The latest fiasco with 24-hour-a-day tankers on Lock Lane in Partington must feel like the final straw.
“I have been doing my best to liaise with United Utilities to push for quick resolutions to various issues and to keep residents informed, and we all know that unforeseen emergencies happen and maintenance needs to be conducted, but the lack of proactive communications from such a large organisation has been totally unacceptable. They simply must do better.
“I have received assurances from Ms Beardmore that she has intervened to restrict tanker hours to outside of 10pm and 6am with a further restriction around school pick-up and drop-off hours, which I and residents have been pressing United Utilities to introduce for some time.
“I’m pleased she has listened in this instance and hope that considering the impact on residents will be at the forefront of their operational planning moving forward.”
A United Utilities spokesperson, said: “Due to an operational issue at Partington wastewater treatment works, we are currently having to use tankers to transport some waste to alternative sites to ensure it can be properly treated.
“We understand that these vehicles have been visible in the community for some time and we are sorry for the impact they are causing. We have reduced the number of tankers and have ceased movements during certain periods of the day. Our teams are working around the clock to resolve the issue and return the site to normal operations as quickly as possible.”
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