ePetition details

Northumberland Avenue, Thornton Cleveleys - Flood defence

We, the undersigned, petition the county council to plan and carry out works to improve the drainage to avoid the water backing up on a regular basis and decrease the risk of flooding to properties and vehicles. Properties and vehicles are at risk of being damaged due to the poor drainage system which needs urgent attention from the local council.

Our properties are at risk of being flooded again due to the drainage not being fit for purpose - the drains do not clear the water away effectively, the water builds up and is causing problems for home owners.
The road is dangerous for road users due to the amount of water which collects on the road. Shockwaves of water fill our driveways causing issues for our access on and off and into our properties.

This ePetition ran from 09/10/2020 to 09/11/2020 and has now finished.

60 people signed this ePetition.

Council response

Surface water drainage, including highway drainage, in the general area of Thornton Cleveleys is very vulnerable to ditch maintenance and to natural processes including weather conditions. If the remote ditches are blocked or slow-flowing, rainwater will not drain off the highways as quickly as it arrives. We are having more frequent rainstorms as our climate changes, so there can be times when the build-up of water in the roads causes flooding.

The council's local highway maintenance team has checked and re-checked the highway drainage systems around Northumberland Avenue, and our officers are confident that the drainage for which we are directly responsible is fit for purpose and free of any obstructions. This means that we can't do any more to improve on the very difficult conditions you are suffering, in the areas we are responsible for.
Having confirmed this in regard to the highway drainage, we have investigated further down the drainage systems, to field ditches and the culvert to the north of Milburn Avenue. These drainage systems carry surface water away from the Northumberland Avenue area and under Amounderness Way. The responsibility for keeping these drainage systems working properly sits with a complex combination of private landowners, the Environment Agency and Highways England.

The team found water standing in these ditches, unable to flow away and causing a blocking-back of water to the Northumberland Avenue area. As part of the investigations, officers unblocked a sluice by removing a build-up of debris, which immediately released flows in the ditches and connecting drainage systems. We believe this will have overcome the concerns that you have raised with us.

We will continue to monitor the situation and respond again if necessary.

With this experience, we now believe that the responsible parties need to develop and deliver a more reliable cleansing regime for the sluice and ditch network. With our experience and evidence, we shall raise this with them at our next scheduled liaison meeting (yet to be arranged but currently expected at the end of February/early March).

We would be most grateful if you would continue to report any highway drainage problems to us for investigation as follows:

1. Simple blocked gullies and other defects can be reported through our on-line reporting tool here: https://www.lancashire.gov.uk/roads-parking-and-travel/reportit/
2. More complex situations can be explained in an email and sent to us at: highways@lancashire.gov.uk
3. Emergency highway problems can be rung through to us on: 0300-123-6780 during working hours and via the police on 101 out of hours.

I hope this advice is of help to you and your neighbours.