£550,000 to tackle flood issues
Detailed investigations at Loughborough and Mountsorrel
MORE than half a million pounds has been set aside to pay for investigations into the causes of flooding at 136 homes across Leicestershire.
Properties across the county were damaged when heavy rain fell in October and November last year.
More than 70 roads were closed and flooding incidents were reported at nearly 300 sites across Leicestershire.
Some residents are yet to return home with repairs still not complete.
Charnwood bore the brunt of the bad weather with 77 homes affected, in Stoney Stanton 34 homes were evacuated when water flooded in.
All of areas affected are being investigated but particular attention is being paid to the areas hit hardest by the heavy rainfall.
Section 19 investigations - a detailed look at the causes of flooding - are being carried out in Bramcote Road, Loughborough; Betty Hensers Lane, Mountsorrel; Wood Brook, Loughborough; Cossington; Stoney Stanton; Main Street, Leire; Appleby Magna; and Saddington Road, Fleckney.
The investigations usually take between six and 18 months and can cost between £5,000 and £70,000 to complete.
Some £550,000 is being set aside in the council’s 2020/21 budget - £250,00 has been earmarked to fund investigations into the causes of the flooding, £150,000 will go on drainage repair schemes while another £150,000 will be spent on a camera van to survey drainage pipes.
Brian Hardy and his wife are yet to move back to their Stoney Stanton cottage which was wrecked after the October downpours.
Brian who has lived in the village for his whole life, has his own ideas about what caused the floods.
He said: “To me, it’s no coincidence that a year after 29 new homes are built over the road, we all end up with flooded homes.
“That field was a flood plain, they [Blaby District Council, the planning authority for the area] had experts saying it wasn’t but we’ve lived opposite it for more than 40 years and I’ve seen it after heavy rainfall and it was like a lake.
“But the road sloped that way and the water ran into the field, now there’s a kerb and that acts as a dam and sends the water our way.
“We want the answers but we already know them. The problem is, no one’s going to say ‘we made a mistake’ and then order that the new homes are knocked down.
“This is something we’re just going to have to live with now.”
The report was presented at a meeting of the environment and transport scrutiny last week.
Councillor Bill Boulter said: “As district councillors we are frustrated when we have to grant a planning application on land that we know floods.
“There is something definitely wrong with the system about flooding, we’re building on flood plains and then wondering why we’ve got flooding.
“You can’t beat water, it will always find its way round.”
Pat Clarke, environment and transport assistant director at County Hall, said: “We have gone into an exercise with regards to looking at where the flooding did occur in Leicestershire in correlation to where there are new developments.
“We are not at this present moment in time putting any blame in any form in any way shape or direction, what we just want to do is understand.
“It is part of the role of the district council when there are developments to check the drainage provision and on site.”
Speaking at the meeting, Coun Blake Pain, Leicestershire County Council lead member or environment, spoke of the scale of the recent flooding incidents and added: “It’s a priority for the authority to ensure that areas prone to flooded are investigated thoroughly.
“It’s very difficult to compel agencies to act but it would be nice to see powers forthcoming for us to deal with that.”
John Richardson, strategic director at Blaby District Council, the authority that granted permission for the Stoney Stanton homes opposite Mountsorrel Cottages where Brian Hardy lives, said: “The formal investigation by Leicestershire County Council into the flooding at Stoney Stanton is still underway, and we have already seen some very positive outcomes from this - such as the county council securing funding for flood modelling, which will hopefully point to the causes.
“We are working closely with them to provide information we have received and continue to gather from the parish council and local residents.
“It would be inappropriate to comment prior to the conclusion of the investigation, but we remain in close dialogue with the county council as they continue their investigation.”