Just before Christmas residents living at the West End were rejoicing at the new layout created at Melville Crescent which opened to the public.
At New Year however it was another story with flooding evident on the newly formed street and some basement owners fearing their properties would be flooded. Then, after the water had apparently been cleared by the council’s gully team, it happened again on 5 January.
@cllr_jenkinson @Edinburgh_CC @balfourbeatty @jomowat @edinwestendcc @BenMacpherson 2 days ago many of us called for emergency drain clearing of the £2.1m works at Melville Crescent (pic 1) The situation is worse tonight (pic 2) Investigate please! Properties are at risk ! pic.twitter.com/c8EHELduIt
— Banksider (@Se1Banksider) January 5, 2025
Transport and Environment Convener, Councillor Stephen Jenkinson told The Edinburgh Reporter: “We are aware of the issues with drainage on Melville Street and damaged paving at the junction of Stafford Street. We are continuing to work with our contractor to identify the cause of the drainage issue. Remedial works to the damaged paving are scheduled to be carried out by our contractor next month.”
Balfour Beatty, the contractors behind the City Centre to West Edinburgh Link (CCWEL) and the reimagining of Melville Crescent were contacted for comment. A spokesperson said: “We are aware of the drainage issues at Melville Crescent. Following a CCTV inspection earlier this week, a partial blockage was identified in the drainage line that our system connects to.
“Whilst there is currently no flooding at the location, we have appointed a drainage specialist to investigate the cause of the blockage and are awaiting their proposal to rectify the issue. Once received, we will clear the blockage as soon as possible.”
The contractor also went on to say that the paving had been laid in accordance with specifications. Residents have raised the matter of broken paving slabs at the end of Stafford Street.
The major works included:
- Widening and resurfacing pavements with traditional sandstone slabs suitable for the heritage location
- Reintroducing setts on the road surface, by uncovering and reusing setts currently hidden under asphalt
- Installing improved and additional pedestrian crossing points
- Creating new lawn areas and planting street trees
- Adding cycle parking facilities and benches
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