‘My clients are having to hop around lakes of water - it’s awful’: Beauty salon owner
A beauty salon owner in Oldham, Debbie Morris, has raised concerns about persistent water pooling and flooding outside her salon on Duchess Street Parade, which has caused safety hazards for elderly clients and damaged her flooring. She and local councillor Louie Hamblett accuse the council of poor communication and failing to address the issue, while the council has promised to investigate potential solutions.
Beauty Salon Customers Forced to Hop Through ‘Lakes’ of Water
Elderly clients at a Duchess Street Parade salon are navigating treacherous puddles that regularly flood the entrance to Nikki-Leigh Studio in Oldham, forcing them to hop through standing water whenever it rains.
Debbie Morris, 52, who has operated the beauty salon for a decade, says the pavement sits lower than the road, creating a collection point for rainwater that sometimes washes into her shop and damages her flooring. The situation becomes particularly hazardous during freezing weather, leaving her elderly customers frightened to enter the premises.
“The problem is that the pavement here is lower than the road,” Morris explained. “In bad weather, this is very dangerous because the water freezes. Some of the clients who come to see us are elderly and are really scared when it’s flooded, and it can get really icy. My clients are having to hop around lake water - it’s awful.”
Local councillor Louie Hamblett, whom Morris contacted for help, accused the council of “failing to carry out even the most basic level of communication” and suggested recent pothole repairs actually worsened the problem by making the road level with the footpath. He dismissed council claims that flooding isn’t an issue in the area, citing photos from Morris and other residents as evidence.
Coun Chris Goodwin, Oldham council’s cabinet member for transport and highways, acknowledged the problem: “We sympathise with the issues being faced here, so we are looking into the possibility of additional kerbing works to mitigate the water pooling issues. We are hopeful that this will address the issue.”
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