Castleford Customer Service Facilities, including Showers, Lavatories, Pump Out and Elsan Currently Unavailable Until Further Notice, Due to Drainage Issues

Further to our previous update, all the customer service facilities, including the Elsan and the pump out, are affected by the problems with the drainage system at Castleford. In view of this, both the Elsan and the pump out will remain closed off, until the blockage, further along the pipe, has been removed and the situation is resolved. Each time any part of the facility is used, the waste goes into the chamber and so this needs to be cleared prior to each inspection and before work can begin, causing significant delays. The showers and lavatories will remain closed, as part of the national non essential closure programme. Upon further inspection of the full drainage system out from the pump out, it has been found that there is a blockage in a drain on third party land, into which our drain runs. Our Operational Property and Legal teams are working together, along with the drainage contractors to ascertain what options we have available. Unfortunately, we will not be able to provide a further update until the legal position has been clarified.

Further to our previous update, all the customer service facilities, including the Elsan and the pump out, are affected by the problems with the drainage system at Castleford. In view of this, both the Elsan and the pump out will remain closed off, until the blockage, further along the pipe, has been removed and the situation is resolved. Each time any part of the facility is used, the waste goes into the chamber and so this needs to be cleared prior to each inspection and before work can begin, causing significant delays.

The showers and lavatories will remain closed, as part of the national non essential closure programme.

Upon further inspection of the full drainage system out from the pump out, it has been found that there is a blockage in a drain on third party land, into which our drain runs. Our Operational Property and Legal teams are working together, along with the drainage contractors to ascertain what options we have available.

Unfortunately, we will not be able to provide a further update until the legal position has been clarified.

Upon further inspection of the full drainage system out from the pump out, it has been found that there is a blockage in a drain on third party land, into which our drain runs. Our Operational Property and Legal teams are working together, along with the drainage contractors to ascertain what options we have available.

Unfortunately, we will not be able to provide a further update until the legal position has been clarified.

  A further issue has been identified in the outlet pipe between the pump chamber and the mains drains.  Works are currently being planned to identify the extent of the further blockage and carry out remedial works, Further works have also been identified in the pump chamber itself which require remediation,

A further update will be provided Friday 24th April, 2026

The planned visit to attend, assess and replace the damaged section of pipework wc 09/02/26 was unsuccessful due to the pump chamber and drain lines being full of waste and water, despite the facility being closed.

A planned visit with a waste tanker and jetting crew has been rescheduled for 25/02/2026 where the pump chamber will be emptied, any blockages cleared and the damaged section of pipework assessed and replaced if possible.

A further update will be provided on Monday, 9th March 2026

Following the planned hire pump installation and full assessment of works required, a further issue with the discharge pipe has been identified preventing the essential services being reopened. Works are now being arranged to attend site and replace the damaged section of pipework. A further update will be provided on 18th February.

Contractors have carried out works to the damaged pipework in the sub pump chamber. However, further works required have been identified, which are preventing the pumpout to be fully working. In the meantime, it has been escalated and a hire pump has been requested to be installed as a temporary measure whilst a full assessment of the further works needed is carried out. We will update the notice on Monday 26 January 2026 on the receipt of further information.

The contractor has now sourced a suitable pump and will confirm a date for its installation and for checks to be carried out, as soon as possible.

This notice will be updated once a date has been confirmed.

The nearest pump out is situated at Stanley Ferry,

Contractors attended the site and cleared the blockage. However, the pumpout remains not working as there is a significant fault with the sub chambers which are unable to hold the contents of the pumpout. It is in discussion what is the next stage for the pumpout. We will update the notice when there is more information available regarding the decision that is to be made. The closest pumpout is at Stanley Ferry.

We have the Tuesday 9th September as the agreed date for a joint visit to occur with both parties to Castleford Pumpout to resolve the issue that is currently preventing the pumpout from working. We will update the notice, when we receive further information after the 9th September 2025.

We are still establishing a joint visit between the 2 contractors as the issues appear to be more complicated than originally perceived. As soon as we receive any further updates we will update the notice.

Unfortunately, the joint visit today were unable to resolve the issue. The chamber was drained to a level that it was established the pump is working and sat correctly. The tanker had a limited capacity so the full contents of the chamber was unable to be completely emptied as wished. It also appears that there may be other issues as to why the pump is not working which need to be investigate further.

We will need another joint visit from both contractors in the near future. We will update the notice when we have further information. The next closest pumpout available is at Stanley Ferry.

A joint visit will be occurring on Friday 22nd August with both contractors attending site at Castleford Pumpout to clear the chambers and resolve the issue. We will update the notice with further information when it is fixed and operational.