WORRIED residents have been assured their gardens will not be flooded when new homes are built nearby.

Homeowners on the Oakdale estate off the A666 in Earcroft have been told extra drains will be put in.

Several residents from the Bog Height Road area wrote to Blackburn with Darwen Council saying drainage on land where Maunders Homes want to build 29 three and four bedroom detached houses is not adequate.

Maunders has agreed to provide extra drains along the back of the site were the homes will be built, bordering on to Bog Height Road. Councillors were advised by planning experts to give the latest section of the huge Oakdale development the green light, even without the extra drainage

At a meeting of the planning committee Councillors Mary Leaver and Dave Hollings asked for assurances from town hall planning bosses that the new drains would do the trick. And they were told that the new arrangements were specifically designed to avoid flooding to the gardens of homes on Bog Height Road - although the situation will be closely monitored.

The controversy is the second in recent months at Oakdale.

Maunders sought permission to build town houses in a separate part of the estate in July, prompting a storm of protest from residents.

The housing company eventually backed down and reverted to its original plans to build three bedroomed houses in response to complaints from Oakdale residents that town houses would devalue their own, recently built, homes.

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