Harrow School neighbours want answers over flooding

Neighbours in Harrow want to know why Harrow School's cricket fields have repeatedly flooded over the past five years, leaving their back gardens submerged.

John Cooke, of Merton Road, said since 2002, standing water has not soaked away from the pitch after it has rained and eventually the pool overflows into his garden and four others that back onto it.

Residents like him have complained to the school and local politicians in an effort to resolve the historic dispute.

He told the Observer: "Despite spending huge amounts of money on a new irrigation scheme during last summer and autumn, this cricket field complex has ended up with a massive pool of rainwater which remains on the surface for weeks.

"There are other satellite pools also, besides the increased flooding threat over the garden boundaries of Merton Road. Much of the grass surfaces are waterlogged.

"Harrow School is guilty of landscaping all the character out of these grounds, over the years, by removing trees and bushes and eliminating natural land profiles and other features.

"These changes have brought about problems with surface water and drainage. When challenged the school claims that responsibility lies with Harrow Council and/or Thames Water."

In order to find a solution, Gareth Thomas, Labour MP for Harrow West, has brokered a meeting between the Merton Road residents affected and Harrow School on March 30, with the possibility that representatives from the utility company and the council may attend