Flooding

I attach for info, a couple of photos taken by Nick Bygrave, one of the RRA's committee members yesterday, (Saturday 14 Nov). The photos were taken after some of the flooding had subsided so this is not showing it at it's worst. You can see the leaf tide mark in the carriageway in front of the Rover car parked on the right, in photo 2002-1, as to where it was, at it's worst. We had the same situation on Friday evening, 13 Nov.

Having walked around the area today, as well as three blocked gullies I told you about yesterday in Mitchley Ave (o/s 4 & 10), virtually all the gullies grids in Coombe Wood Hill, top end of Brancaster Lane, Lower Barn Rd, Coombe Wood Hill, bottom end of Buttermere Gardens and Mitchley Ave, are all blocked by leaf debris and/or silt. Obviously with these gullies blocked at the higher points, all the water falls to this low point under the bridge and thereby worsens the flooding !!

Regards

Phil

Phil Thomas

Committee Member (Planning & Environmental)

Riddlesdown Residents Association

16 November 2009 08.33

Bob

We have flooding again this morning (Mon 16 Nov) and the path on the upside line, to the Station is impassable for those walking from the east side of the bridge i.e. from Lower Barn Rd.

Stephen - can we please have a gully sucker around today to clear this water and gullies ?

Regards

Phil

Phil Thomas

Riddlesdown Residents Association

16 November 2009 3.41pm

Phil,

I have requested that Stephen Piper arranges for the gullies to be cleared both at the

flood area and at the uphill locations mentioned in your email. Unfortunately if the uphill gullies are not working much of the highway drainage system will not be fully utilised placing an additional burden on the soakaways in the dip outside Riddlesdown Station, resulting in flooding.

The soakaways in Lower Barn Road, Coombe Wood Hill and Brancaster Lane will be cleaned during the current soakaway cleansing programme.

Regards

Bob

Bob Hucks

Head of structures and drainage

16 November 2009 16.38

Thanks for your e-mail Bob.

However, I'm not clear when you say that Stephen will arrange for the gullies in the flooded areas and also uphill gullies to be cleared asap. Then you say that those in Lower Barn Rd, Coombe Wood Hill will be cleared in the normal cleansing cycle. Because of the low point of this bridge in Lower Barn Rd, virtually every location that I mentioned, Lower Barn Rd, Coombe Wood Hill, Mitchley Ave, Buttermere Gardens are all above this low point and water does all eventually find its way here, because of the topography. These gully grids, most of which are blocked do really need to be cleared now and not wait for the normal cleaning programme. The only exception to this, is perhaps Brancaster Lane.

Regards

Phil

Phil Thomas

Riddlesdown Residents Association

16 November 2009 5.03pm

Phil,

Sorry for the confusion but the gullies will be dealt with asap by Stephen at Streetscene. The soakaways to which the gullies connect are cleansed by a different Contractor using far larger plant and will be cleaned during the current programme. The Contractor is currently dealing with soakaway cleansing in Kenley where property has been flooded and Lower Barn Road will be next on the list.

Regards

Bob

Bob Hucks

Head of structures and drainage

16 November 2009 16.39

Councillors and Mr Thomas,

I have cleared accumulated leaves from tops of :-

1) 10 gullies in Coombe Wood Hill - during which two blocked gullies (outside 6 and 40) were noted.

2) 6 gullies Riddlesdown Avenue from outside no 61 to junction with Coombe Wood Hill and Lower Barn Road.

3) 15 gullies in Lower Barn Road from junction with Coombe Wood Hill and Riddlesdown Avenue to junction with Rydal Close so far as parked cars allowed – during which two blocked gullies in the dip of Lower Barn Road close to railway bridge were noted.

I have requested the Lower Barn Road carriageway under the railway bridge be cleansed with a mechanical broom and the blocked gullies noted above plus those outside 4 and 10 Mitchley Avenue be attended to as soon as possible.

Stephen Piper

Manager, Streetscene South Team,

16 November 2009 16.58

Mr Thomas,

My e-mail advising action taken today has crossed with your e-mail below. As advised in my e-mail I have requested blocked (i.e. silted to the top) gullies noted in Coombe Wood Hill, Mitchley Avenue and Lower Barn Road be attended to as soon as possible. I have also cleared leaves from tops of gullies in all of Coombe Wood Hill and in sections of Riddlesdown Avenue and Lower Barn Road close to flood site so far as is possible and parked cars allow. Regrettably there are still enough leaves around for this not to be a permanent solution.

Stephen Piper

Manager, Streetscene South Team

Update as at 1 March 2010

The Council appear to have listened to the RRA and local Councillors and have spent money on cleaning the surface water drainage system. You may have noticed large tankers in the area, emptying all the soakaways and road gully sumps. Hopefully this will now go some way to alleviating the flooding problems under the bridge. Unfortunately a legacy of this is now some noisy manhole covers when traffic passes over the ironwork in the road!

We have also pointed out to the Council that there are blocked gully grids and soakaways to other hilly roads like Mitchley Avenue, Buttermere Gardens, Rectory Park, Copthorne Rise, Dalegarth Gardens and Riddlesdown Avenue and they say they will deal with these as well in due course, ‘as and when schedules and budgets permit’, which we hope will be from April 2010 onwards. For the time being, some of these gully grids remain blocked!