COUNCILLORS, campaigners and residents are calling on Worcestershire County Council to address the issue of flooding in a Rubery underpass.
The subway which goes underneath the main dual carriageway through the village, linking Callowbrook Lane and New Road, has filled up with water.
Coun Peter McDonald is liaising with the Bromsgrove District Council depot and they are requesting the Highways department at the county council get something done.
And with a yellow weather warning for heavy rain from the Met Office in place for Rubery and the rest of Bromsgrove District and Birmingham from 6am on Friday morning, the situation is only going to get worse.
Coun McDonald said: “It’s hard to believe that an authority such as Worcestershire County Council expects residents to wade through a flooded subway.
“The county councillor has been absent, ignoring pleas from residents to do something.
“This has been going on for far too long, treating Rubery residents with utter contempt.
“We in Rubery pay our taxes and expect at least the county council to do something.
“The district council has responded best they can , but it is a county council matter.”
Coun Esther Gray told the Standard: “I have had residents who have got their shoes and socks wet and then had to get on the bus with soaked feet and stay like that for the rest of the day.
“My dog was almost up to her belly and nearly had to swim through the subway.
“The man in the post office had reported it as well and they said it was because the water table had risen.”
She added the issue was the soakaway being blocked – it was installed in the 1960s and is not fit for purpose. At the very least, it needs pumping out.
“Our depot officer is trying to get cooperation from Worcestershire County Council.”
One parent – Esther Burgoyne said her son came home soaked after having to ‘wade through the floodwater’ after getting off the bus from college.
And she said, more worryingly, some students who did not want to get wet were contemplating walking across the dual carriageway – a road with a 70mph speed limit – to avoid it.
A spokesperson for Worcestershire County Council, said: “We can confirm that this has been highlighted to our blocked gully team.
“We would encourage residents to avoid the flood water and use other nearby subways and walking routes.”
