Edinburgh residents in Easter Drylaw Drive with sewage flooded gardens 'dreading' summer months

Furious residents whose back gardens end up deluged with rain and sewage water during storms and flash rain say they are dreading the summer months ahead.

Tenants at five properties on Easter Drylaw Drive have had their homes flooded by rainwater, surface water and sewage up to 4ft deep every summer for four years. They have even had faeces and needles floating in their gardens as a result of the problem.

But after pleading with the council and other agencies for help, one resident was recently told that the street is not a priority for repairs. The dad-of-two first reported the problem in summer of 2019 and has contacted the council repeatedly over the years. Now he says residents feel ignored over the issue after claims that the council leader arranged to meet with the residents twice and cancelled on both occasions at the last minute despite having pledged to help them after the Evening News reported their plight in December 2022.

He said: "I’m really disappointed that nothing has been done. We’ve been met with this wall of silence now after being let down twice in recent months. It’s a horrible feeling, we’re left on edge about it and dreading the summer months. There’s nothing we can do except stand and watch our garden slowly disappear as it fills with water. It’s the filthy muck and stuff you end up having to pick up after that’s just horrible. And it gets into our basements. We’ve had seven episodes of this since 2019 and we’re all just about ready to give up. I honestly think the council will just do nothing about it. We don’t even get a response if we contact them now.”

Mr Day has responded saying he intends to meet with the residents and said the area is now being considered as a priority under flood management plans. The council is working with Scottish Water and SEPA on the issue, he said. He previously said of the residents situation ‘nobody should have to live like that’.

Council leader Cammy Day said: “I appreciate the stress flooding such as this can cause for residents – unfortunately it is becoming a more frequent occurrence with more extreme rainfall. We’re currently developing strategies for the management of flood risk, in partnership with Scottish Water and SEPA, and Craigleith has been identified as a priority area. I understand local members have visited residents at Easter Drylaw Drive and I intend to meet them when we have the appropriate agencies confirmed. In the meantime I would encourage people to follow flooding advice on our website to protect their properties.”