Following heavy rain flooding has occurred at least three times in December (15th, 20th & 21st) as well as 26/27 November (see below), under the railway bridge in Lower Barn Rd. This has caused issues for rail commuters and also residents trying to access the shops. It was particularly bad on 21 December and lasted all morning and into the afternoon. The detour if residents and/or commuters don’t want to get wet feet, is about 1 mile.
The RRA have been in regular contact with senior Council Officers and local Councillors about this and we have been told after the flooding on 21 December, that the Council that the section 19, of the Flood and Water Management Act 2010 which was instigated in 2015 by the Council as the Lead Local Flood Authority (LLFA) is still is applicable.
This basically says:
19 Local authorities: investigations
(1) On becoming aware of a flood in its area, a lead local flood authority must, to the extent that it considers it necessary or appropriate, investigate –
(a) which risk management authorities have relevant flood risk management functions, and
(b) whether each of those risk management authorities has exercised, or is proposing to exercise, those functions in response to the flood.
(2) Where an authority carries out an investigation under subsection (1) it must-
(a) publish the results of its investigation, and
(b) notify any relevant risk management authorities.
We have commented further to the Council that many of Riddlesdown’s streets have not been cleaned that well by Veolia of leaves and there are many road gullies that are blocked and have been for some time (especially in Lower Barn Rd and Coombe Wood Hill). We have been told that Lower Barn Rd was like a river on the last flooding event. This is probably because flooding also occurred on Mitchley Ave by the zebra crossing and it overspilled into Lower Barn Rd.
The RRA believe the situation may have got worse at this location since the construction of the boundary wall and raised ground levels of the flats at Riddleah Court in 2014. This has now prevented flood water overspilling into the former woodland and the existing soakaways at this location cannot take the volume of surface water now.
We will continue to monitor the situation.
Two Photos taken 21 December 2019
