In a muddle...

MUDDY hell . . . the alley way which connects Cartmel Crescent to Northfield Road in Chadderton

A RESIDENT appears to have muddied the waters with neighbours after turning a pathway into an impassable quagmire.

Householders in Cartmel Crescent, Chadderton, and Northfield Road, New Moston, are up in arms ­- and, they say, up to their knees in mud ­- after a neighbour piled soil from his garden into a passageway linking the two streets.

The mud-slinging began after Northfield Road resident Warren Baines dug out his back garden to build a garage and dumped the excess groundwork in the alley way.

They say the alleyway, on the Chadderton-New Moston border, is now under several feet of water in parts and the dozens of the dog walkers, school children and residents who once used the cut-through have declared it a no-go zone and have been forced to use an alternative route via South Way.

The path ­- which is owned by both Oldham and Manchester councils ­- has become the subject of a wrangle between householders who are demanding action from the local authorities and that the path be restored to its former state by the householder responsible.

Ridiculous

Local councillors have also been involved in attempts to resolve the situation including Chadderton South representative Graham Shuttleworth and Moston councillor Paula Appleby.

One resident told us: "This started in January and we have waited a ridiculous amount of time to get something done. Yet again this is the forgotten bit of Chadderton.

"Officers from Oldham Council came down last week and established it was on the Oldham side and said they will be taking action. Manchester Council are also involved because they removed knotweed from the path last summer and the soil where it was removed from isn't supposed to be disturbed for 12 months due to the risk of moving roots about. That land has been disturbed so they're looking in to that.

"If you are brave you could pass through but there is so much water there now you would probably need a life jacket. It's about four pallets deep.

Nuisance

"All the children who live on these streets use it to get to the schools in Failsworth, people walking their dogs and those living in New Moston who want to get to the canal side. It's a real nuisance.

"We just want it put back to at least as good as it was before if not better."

Another miffed Cartmel Crescent resident said: "This guy has but pallets down for people to walk on but they're just floating around there's so much water.

"I've been trying to get action from Manchester and Oldham councils for almost seven weeks and I've got nowhere. I think it's absolutely disgusting that neither council has done anything about it and this has been allowed to continue. The residents and those who use the Cartmel Crescent allotments have spent a lot of time trying to keep the area tidy and get rid of fly-tipping.

"It's an on-going battle and now this."

Mr Baines told the Chronicle he has spoken to council officers and is waiting for the water to subside before continuing the work.

"I've lived at these premises for 15 years and I'm the only one who deals with the alley way when it gets overgrown, there's fly-tipping and clearing up dog mess and to be honest I've had enough," he told the Chronicle.

"I've never seen anyone else down there clearing up in all the time I've lived here.

Problem

"The alleyway has always been a problem and always had a drainage issue and I'm currently trying to solve it for my benefit and everyone else's.

"Granted it's a mess at the moment but I'm trying to get drains in there get the water down and they cross over into council land.

"I'm in the process of building a garage and I was going to stone the path for the benefit of everyone but because of people complaining I'm not going to.

"Now I'm just going to stone my drive and that's it.

"I did this work in winter when the path is always bad.

"In summer plenty of people use it but you'd have to be brave to use it at this time of year. I can't understand why they are whinging."

An Oldham Council spokesman said: "This is not an official highway but we are working with the resident to clear it."