Bulwer Street Residents Displaced by Flooding Will Not Return Home for Christmas

People who were forced to vacate their street due to flooding are facing a Christmas away from their residences. The inhabitants of Bulwer Street in Bootle, Merseyside, were compelled to leave on 30 September when water surged into their homes following a period of heavy rain that resulted in a sewage system failure. United Utilities expressed its “incredibly sorry” sentiment that residents would not be in their homes for Christmas Day, but indicated it was “positive” they would be able to return by April. Bulwer Street resident Sid Traynor, 80, informed BBC Radio Merseyside: “People are very upset over it, they’ve lost everything.” Recalling the day of the flood, Mr. Traynor, who is currently staying in a hotel, stated he had been at home doing a crossword when he entered his conservatory and saw water coming in. He remarked, “I thought I better get my mop bucket.” He continued, “Then, when I looked out I couldn’t see any grass. “The next thing I’d seen was a wave coming over, and that was it – like that – I couldn’t get in and save anything.” Mr. Traynor’s home is undergoing extensive work, including re-plastering, and his £14,000 jukebox is also being repaired. Outside, the road is lined with vans and skips as workers repair neighboring properties, many of which have dehumidifier hoses emerging from their letter boxes. For Mr. Traynor and his neighbors, this situation is familiar. Homes were previously flooded in 2013, leaving some residents unable to return for six months. Mr. Traynor commented, “It wasn’t as bad last time.” He added, “We keep asking the same question – is this going to happen again? Obviously, [United Utilities] can’t say it won’t happen again. “What they’re saying is they’ve done a few things, but we don’t know.” He further stated, “Do I think it will happen again? Yeah, I personally do but I’m 80 now and I’m too old to start looking round for another house now.” United Utilities characterized the cause of the flooding as “rare and exceptional.” Chris Matthews, head of regional engagement, attributed it to a “software fault,” which led to a failure in pumping rainwater into the nearby River Mersey. He affirmed, “We’ve fixed the software problem.” He also added, “We’ve also got a manual system in place as well that offers some reassurance.” Regarding the potential for another recurrence, Mr. Matthews stated: “I wouldn’t sit here and say that we could guarantee it will never, ever flood because we cannot control the rain. “What I would say on the reassurance that we can give is that we have addressed the issues that happened in the past and we’re putting additional resilience into the system”. United Utilities expressed its “positive” expectation that residents would be back in their homes before April. Sally Ainsworth, head of customer services, conveyed that the company was “incredibly sorry” that individuals were not back in their residences for Christmas. The company announced it was organizing days out, meals, and hampers for displaced residents during the Christmas period. Mr. Traynor, however, still desires to return to his home comforts. He remarked, “It’s not the same [being in a hotel], you want to be home for Christmas.” He continued, “People are very upset over it, they’ve lost everything. “There’s things there that you’ll never get back – I know people who’ve lost photographs, weddings, all sorts. “Things that the parents had and the parents have passed away. “Its all gone.” Access the top content from BBC Radio Merseyside on Sounds and connect with BBC Merseyside on Facebook, X, and Instagram. Story proposals can be submitted to northwest.newsonline@bbc.co.uk. This material is copyrighted by BBC in 2024, with all rights reserved. The BBC does not assume responsibility for the content of external websites. Information regarding our external linking policy is available.