By Jason Lewis, Local Democracy Reporter
A water leak under investigation for 10 months could lead to car crashes, a Southampton councillor has warned, as he claimed wards in the east of the city are not being prioritised.
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Peartree councillor Soham Bandyopadhyay criticised the “series of unfortunate events” which had left residents waiting for answers over the situation in Athelstan Road.
The Reform UK councillor said the problem had been going on since at least November last year.
He said over the Christmas period the water froze, and cars skidded as they drove down the hill.
Reform UK Peartree ward councillor Soham Bandyopadhyay at the site of the leak in Athelstan Road, Southampton. Photo:: LDRS
Southampton City Council said the water is believed to be groundwater seepage rather than a faulty pipe.
Alongside pressing for answers over the leak, Cllr Bandyopadhyay has called for the Labour-run city council to invest in traffic calming measures.
He told the Local Democracy Reporting Service: “This is an area where there have been accidents.
“I have highlighted that numerous times with the council but unfortunately they don’t feel it is a priority area that needs intervention.”
The councillor, who was elected in May, said the volume of traffic made it more challenging for the water company and council to inspect the site without putting roadworks in place.
He added: “I don’t think it was helped by the fact the Itchen Bridge maintenance work was encouraging individuals to drive down this road and it became a road of high throughput for vehicles but now we are 10 months down the line with water still continuing.”
Cllr Bandyopadhyay said his experience to date felt like councillors were held to the power of the water companies, adding that they should be answerable to elected members and residents.
He added: “My bigger issue is it feels to a large extent that wards on the east side of the city just aren’t prioritised as much as wards on the other side of the city and therefore you get this neglect.
“The fact we are doing maintenance work on the Itchen Bridge, very important clearly, but there’s no due consideration for the adverse effects on other roads, which if you know the area and talk to the residents you can account for that but that doesn’t seem to have happened.
“It’s just a frustrating series of events that’s led to an issue that’s been culminating for 10 months and could have been sorted much earlier and been for the betterment of the whole neighbourhood.”
Southern Water staff were seen on site this week investigating the site of the leak.
A spokesman for the utility company said: “We’re aware of concerns about water on Athelstan Road and have been investigating the source.
“While we haven’t identified a leak on our network, we’re carrying out further testing to determine where the water is coming from, and will continue to work with relevant partners to resolve this.”
A Southampton City Council spokesman said: “The leak outside no 143 has been tested to see if it is treated water and this came back negative.
“It is therefore believed to be groundwater seepage.
“We will continue to monitor this along with other groundwater seepage issues further down Athelstan Road.”
On the speeding concerns, the council spokesperson said the local authority has no plans to install traffic calming measures in Athelstan Road this financial year and it had suggested carrying out traffic surveys to understand the speeds and level of traffic.
⦁ Separately, local democracy reporter Jason Lewis also reports:
A leak has seen water streaming down a busy Southampton road for several days.
Southern Water said it was working to fix the issue in Peartree Avenue at the traffic light junction with Spring Road, Chessel Avenue and Little Lances Hill.
Water could be seen flowing freely along the roadside as far as Stoddart Avenue, which is around 150 metres from the source of the leak.
A Southern Water sign attached to a bollard at the pedestrian crossing said the problem was known to the utility company and it was ‘in hand’, with no date listed on when it would be resolved.
It is understood Southern Water is working with with Southampton City Council to organise traffic management to fix the leak, with plans to carry out the works early next week.
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