'No signs of blockage' in drains after Nottinghamshire town hit again by flooding

A slurry tanker cleaning up flood water in Eastwood
-Credit:Julie Holland


Nottinghamshire County Council has been criticised for not cleaning drains and dykes ahead of widespread flooding, which affected homes and businesses. Two homeowners in separate parts of the county have both contacted Nottinghamshire Live to raise concerns about the county council's response.

Residents near Fryar Road, in Eastwood, privately organised two slurry tankers to come and suck up most of the water that had flooded their road on Monday (January 6). It was not until later in the day that one Eastwood resident says a county council team turned up to clear the road, by which point it was mostly a matter of cleaning up residue.

Flooding was experienced across Nottinghamshire on Monday, with 19 active flood warnings issued in the morning alone across the county. Twenty flood alerts were also in place amid a Met Office yellow weather warning affecting Nottinghamshire throughout the morning.

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One of those affected was 65-year-old Jane Lowe, who lives on Linby Walk opposite The Rangers park in Hucknall. A dyke in the area regularly overflows with water and Mrs Lowe has repeatedly asked the county council to come out, clear it and re-dig the dyke.

The problem has been so bad in recent years that Mrs Lowe paid for a company to come out around seven times between October 2023 and February 2024 to clear the dyke. Monday again saw water overflowing into Mrs Lowe's garden and into the garage.

The Hucknall resident said: "I'm disgusted. I've told the council that I'm not paying this time, they've been made aware and they should have done the work.

"We can't flush our toilets until the water has cleared because our cesspits are full of water. All I've heard back from the council so far is that they're planning to get someone out, but my lad was livid because they knew about this problem."

Flooding on Fryar Road in Eastwood -Credit:Julie Holland
Flooding on Fryar Road in Eastwood -Credit:Julie Holland

In response, a Nottinghamshire County Council conservation manager said: "Since the storms last year, we are aware of issues relating to water levels following storm events and have commissioned work to investigate the storage capacity on site and where water is now being collected from. Following a site visit by a staff member earlier this week, we have also requested that a contractor visits to check that the outfalls are flowing freely."

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Also critical of the council's actions on Monday was Julie Holland, 57, who has lived on her property on Fryar Road, in Eastwood, for more than 30 years. The area was hit badly by Storm Babet in October 2023, the result of which means some residents have still not moved back into their homes.

Those still living in the area were therefore horrified to see flood water returning on Monday. No properties were affected on Monday, but Ms Holland's partner had to use his farming contacts to organise two slurry tankers to come and collect water.

The Eastwood resident said: "I spoke to somebody from the highways team and they said that the drains are now cleared once every three years, when it used to be once every two years, and the water levels in the brook are too high. The council need to be addressing this because this is suddenly starting to become a regular occurrence.

"It's worrying for us, but there's elderly residents on this road and this kind of stuff frightens them." In response, a Nottinghamshire County highways manager said: "We were made aware of surface water flooding on Fryar Road in Eastwood following the heavy rainfall this week and arranged for a team and tanker to attend.

"The team checked and cleaned all highway drains. There were no obvious signs of a blockage, and it is thought the flooding may have been caused by the outlet from the drains into Beauvale Brook being submerged due to the level of water in the brook.

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"The drains are emptied on a cyclical basis and the silt levels observed during previous cleans indicate they do not need emptying more frequently. The brook and its ongoing maintenance are the responsibility of the adjacent land and property owners.

"We do understand the concerns of residents and will return when water levels subside to undertake a CCTV inspection and ensure the system is running freely. Our flood teams were on site yesterday (Monday 6 January) with Cllr Oliver and residents and we are investigating the ongoing concerns around the area with the Environment Agency, Canal and River Trust, and landowners.

"We have also commissioned a study to understand the catchment and its interactions following the devastating impacts of Storm Babet flooding."