‘ANTIQUATED’ sewage systems cannot cope with an increase in homes, insist residents living near a new housing estate.

With buyers signing up for homes on the new Barton Park estate, locals claim the new development will put too much pressure on a sewage system which, they say, dates back to the 1950s.

In 2012, Thames Water warned that the city’s infrastructure 'may not be able to cope' with more housing following episodes of flooding.

Georgina Gibbs, of the Northway Residents’ Group, said nothing had changed and argued existing residents would be hit hardest.

She said: “Once Barton Park is built we are done for, because Northway has a problem with flooding already.

“There will be more pressure on this antiquated sewage system.

“We’re not saying the homes shouldn’t be built, we’re saying that the council and Thames Water should be working together.

“It was already said that this may be affected by developments and it’s obviously not coping.”

In August 2012, flooding left Stockleys Road, Borrowmead Road and Maltfield Road in Northway under two feet of water.

Residents have this week echoed the concerns of those who said six years ago that the drainage system meant any new developments would make the situation worse.

They have claimed the area’s sewage system was laid in 1952, although Thames Water was unable to confirm the age of the pipes.

And with work on the 885-home Barton Park housing estate well under way, they are bracing themselves for more problems.

Since the floods. Oxford City Council has completed the £2.2m Northway and Marston flood alleviation project to protect 110 homes in north east Oxford from surface water flash flooding.

Oxford City Council spokesman Tom Jennings said: “Oxford City Council and Grosvenor Britain & Ireland, the joint developers of Barton Park, have invested substantial sums on the drainage systems at the new 885-home development.

“These systems were designed following close consultation with Thames Water, lead flooding authority Oxfordshire County Council, and the Environment Agency.

“The foul water drainage system in the new estate includes very significant storage on site to ensure that sewage can be held back from Northway and Marston when there are pressures in those areas; the Barton Park surface water system, which includes new ponds and underground water storage, has been designed to ensure that water run-off is no greater than if it were a greenfield site.”

Northway has recently experienced significant trouble with clean water pipes, which are not affected by housing developments.

On Tuesday morning about 200 properties were left without water for 90 minutes as a burst pipe on Sutton Road was fixed.

Engineers had previously been called to repair three leaky pipes in the area this year.

Thames Water spokeswoman Becky Trotman said: “There is no link between new developments being built and leaks on our pipes in this area. The impact of any developments on our clean and waste water infrastructure is assessed before building starts and if upgrades are needed to accommodate the new properties then they will be carried out.”