Following pressure from councillors and some other changes, the Council and United Utilities have made good progress on flooding issues at Ladybridge Road in Cheadle Hulme, Cross Road and Outwood Road in Heald Green and around Brookfield Crescent and Chapel Street in Cheadle.

Pam and I have been particularly involved in the issue at Brookfield Crescent which, as we suspected, turns out to be the same problem that’s been causing pooling at the bottom of Schools Hill.

Here’s what the Council have said about it:

A large degree of debris has now been removed from the culverted watercourse running along Wilmslow Road south of Brookfield Crescent.  Further works are proposed to erect a trash screen upstream of the culvert under Bruntwood Lane to protect the series of culverts downstream from further blockages.  It will also  provide a solution to the recent flooding at the bottom of Schools Hill.  The scheme is currently at the design stage and will proceed once funding is confirmed.  Once the screen is installed the culverts will be resurveyed to ensure they are clear and the residents who own the open watercourse sections will be informed of their responsibilities and in particular the need to prevent garden debris from entering the watercourse.

Three other points that were made during the discussion:

• Following a change in the law, Stockport Council is now a lead authority in tackling flooding.  Previously the duties and powers of the council related just to it’s own ownership (e.g. where a culverted stream passes under the road).  Now the Council has a wider role in producing a Local Risk Flood Strategy.    One result of this is that United Utilities is working more closely with the Council.
• Where any watercourse other than a large river passes through or under someone’s private land, that person is responsible for maintaining the free flow of water through their lane – riperian ownership.
• The water network can be very complex, and it’s entirely possible that solving a problem in one place will result in a problem somewhere else becoming apparent, so it is an ongoing challenge we have to meet.

   Leave a comment