Botanic Gardens, Churchtown, Southport


Councillor John Dodd and a Flooded Botanic Gardens

Lib Dem Councillor John Dodd says he has been inundated with calls from residents, about the water damage to Botanic Gardens Churchtown and the properties that back onto them, Verulam Road and Merlewood Avenue.

Lib Dem Councillor John Dodd has this morning (January 4) arranged to meet Sefton Council 's Principal Parks Officer and Chair of the Botanic Gardens Community Association to see what can be done.

Councillor Dodd said "I contacted Sefton Council and was on site twice on Boxing Day to have a look for myself and to talk to residents." One Verulam Road resident told me "Botanic Gardens, which backs onto our house, has been underwater for some weeks now and no attempt to address the issue has been evident.

"We reached a point on Boxing Day where the flooding broke through onto the path and then came straight through our back fences, initially flooding my next door neighbour’s garden, right up to the patio doors, then breaking through into ours.

"You could clearly see the flow through across the path at the bottom of our garden.

"It took around 36 hours to pump it dry with a pump borrowed from a friend. I know through work I have done previously that there is a sheet of clay under our garden, and you would have to assume the field, so there is no way out for the water.

"It's unacceptable for the Council to allow an unplanned lake to appear at the rear of our properties. It brings rats into closer proximity to our gardens and will be a nightmare next summer when midges start to breed in there".