‘Disgraceful’ drains finally cleared up

‘Disgraceful’ blocked drains on a main road have finally been cleared up, after locals were told they may have to wait until 2026 for the problem to be solved.

Oldham council has been criticised by its own councillors for being too slow to take action on the overflowing drainage on Milnrow Road, in Shaw.

Lib Dem leader Coun Howard Sykes recently took aim at the local authority’s highways maintenance team for ‘falling well below standard’.

The representative for Shaw explained that when flagging the drain issues, he was told he must wait until May 2026 for them to be sorted – something he described as ‘a joke’.

The section of drains on Milrow Road, between Buckstones Road and the Jubilee area in Shaw, has now been cleared up by council workers.
Coun Sykes said: “Finally we’ve had some action instead of endless excuses from the Oldham council. It really shouldn’t be this difficult to get the basics sorted.”

He described seeing grass growing out of the drains, which he felt hadn’t been touched by the maintenance team in years. 

Coun Sykes added: “It is a false economy they will be more expensive to clear; they will not deal with the surface water in the meantime and more damage will be caused to the highway and the risk of flooding increases.

“Some of the areas in Shaw and Crompton are a flooding risk and all will be dangerous to highway users and pedestrians as water pools, especially now that the wet weather is rolling in. 

“The weeds and other vegetation will cause damage to the highway and they will be subject to frost damage. The current system needs to change and change soon.”

The Lib Dem leader has called on the council for a more regular, year-round maintenance.  

Coun Chris Goodwin, cabinet member for transport and highways at Oldham council, said: “While we have an ongoing broader planned boroughwide programme, in some cases it is necessary to address urgent localised issues and respond to severe weather events.

“In this instance, with a potential storm forecast, we took the proactive decision to carry out work in this area to reduce the risk of flooding and ensure that resources were deployed where they were most needed.

“We thank residents for their understanding as we work to keep our drainage network operating effectively for everyone.”