Councillors in Pendle and the Ribble Valley are asking questions about flood management and maintenance of roads, drains and sewers, new house-building near rivers and planning decisions after a spate of new year incidents.
In Pendle, Lib-Dem Coun David Whipp highlighted floods around the West Craven area including Earby, Barnoldswick and Sough.
He said: “Flooding on the A65 Skipton Road in Earby, near the Punch Bowl, is caused by a culvert opposite the pub not taking water. I suspect it is choked and or the culvert is not big enough. This is a regular problem.”
He said a second photo at the Earby location shows water coming through a stone wall with an inlet. A significant area of water has gathered in the field next to it, he said.
On the A56 at Sough, Coun Whipp said: “Water has been surcharging from a manhole lid and the ironwork in the kerb. There is also repeated flooding there.
There is a significant risk of a traffic accident on the bend, because vehicles go onto the opposite side of the road to avoid the water. Or vehicles plough into the water at speed. Also, a property below the road, the Dales Automotive workshop, gets flooded from the highway.”
Flooding has impacted on drain systems linked to different authorities, including Lancashire and North Yorkshire county councils and Yorkshire Water, he said.
At Salterforth Road, Earby, water was backing-up from a combined sewer managed by Yorkshire Water, he said. And there were problems with a gulley linked to a Lancashire County Council culvert which was recently cleared of blockages further above. Surcharge water and effluent was collecting ‘in ponds’ on the corner, he said.
Flooding creating ponds of water near homes at Salterforth Road in Earby, Pendle
(Image: David Whipp)
Elsewhere at Barnoldswick Road, Blacko, below the Cross Gaits, flood-water had effectively made the road impassable for vehicles, Coun Whipp said.
‘Drain improvements needed’
Flooding on the B6251 Bracewell Lane at Bracewell was avoidable, Coun Whipp believed. He said: “The watercourse is culverted under the road. There are gulleys on both sides of the carriageway. There used to be a drain on either side of the road discharging into the watercourse. However, at some point, one of the drains was abandoned and, instead, the gulleys are linked across the road. By improving these drains and up-sizing the gulleys, water could run into the watercourse.”
Flooding at the village of Bracewell in Pendle
(Image: David Whipp)
Elsewhere, there was flooding on Brogden Lane at Barnoldswick. near a new building development. Coun Whipp said: “There has been repeated flooding there and planning conditions are not yet complied with.”
On the Lancashire-North Yorkshire border, he said there is repeated flooding on Church Lane in Thornton-in-Craven. He said he had reported problems to North Yorkshire Council but claimed no ‘effective action’ had yet been taken.
At Ghyll, he said: ” This is on the boundary between North Yorkshire and Lancashire County Council, who I have contacted. The water in the dip there is partly coming from a surcharging gulley next to Nutter Cote. This type of surface water caused a fatality between Nutter Cote and Ghyll a few years ago. The shrine can be seen at the roadside.
Flooding on the B6252 at Ghyll, near Barnoldswick, on the Lancashire-North Yorkshire boundary
(Image: David Whipp)
At West Marton junction, water collects in as dipped camber during heavy rain. The drainage could be improved to get this water off the carriageway, he believes. Elsewhere, dips on the A56 going from Wysick towards Earby result in ponds of water. Coun Whipp said: “These could easily be addressed by allowing the water to escape into downhill fields. But kerbs prevent this.”
He is asking Lancashire County Council and North Yorkshire Council for action. The recent flooding and Earby flood alleviation plans will be discussed at the next meeting of Pendle’s West Craven area committee on Tuesday, January 7, at the Rainhall Centre, Barnoldswick, at 6.45pm.
Ribble Valley
Meanwhile in the Ribble Valley, Conservative Coun Tony Austin highlighted flooding and fears of flooding in Billington and Whalley.
Tony Austin of Ribble Valley Council
(Image: Ribble Valley Council)
He said: “I have just spent half the morning in Longworth Road and the new estate at the bottom of Dale View, both in Billington, as a result of information I received yesterday. I spoke to several residents, all of whom were expecting to be flooded.
“In one house, items were piled up on a table, to prevent flood damage. People were just beginning to rearrange things when I knocked on the door. On returning home from New Year’s Eve celebrations, another resident said that the footbridge, All Souls Bridge, by the Harrisons factory on Longworth Road was being covered by water. Volunteer flood wardens had supplied sandbags and cars had been moved from the street by residents. Another resident said water had been emerging from drains, rather than disappearing.
“This morning, January 2, there was still a foot of water on the A666 under the railway bridge at the top of Dale View, where there was also an abandoned vehicle. None of the scheduled trains had run on New Year’s Day, partly due to the flooding, according to the information at Langho Station.”
Coun Austin also said he had raised concerns in the past about potential flood risks on the new ‘Neddy Lane’ estate at the foot of Dale View. He said: “When statutorily consulted about the planning application, the Environment Agency proposed that an attenuation pond was all the flood protection that was needed . This was constructed by Redrow. But the agency has still not come forward with any funding for flood defences of Whalley or Billington.”
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