Frustration as blocked drains on A49 still not fixed two months after homes flooded
Work to prevent surface flooding on a major Shropshire road has still not been carried out two months after 10 homes were damaged by storm water run-off.
Blocked drains on the A49 at Church Stretton meant water ruined carpets and furniture at properties in Swain's Meadow with one resident, town councillor Mark Morris, forced to move out over Christmas while his home is repaired.
Chris Naylor, a parliamentary candidate and local resident, went out to inspect the road on Christmas Eve, and found to his shock that nothing had yet been done to stop four drains from blocking up on the major cross-Shropshire trunk road route since the heavy rains in late October.
Mr Naylor, a Liberal Democrat, said: “There’s no doubt the water run-off from the A49 due to blocked drains caused this horrendous flooding back in October.
"I’m alarmed to see several drains are still blocked. I’ll be raising this again on the council’s ‘Fix My Street’ website. But last time I highlighted a highways problem I received a report saying the works had been done - when in fact nothing had happened.
“Climate change means we're going to have more floods, and worse floods, especially at this time of year.”
Town councillor Morris said he was grateful to all concerned for the help after the floods.
"But it's ridiculous we’ve having Christmas away from home because of these unnecessary floods.
“The blocked drains clearly made the flooding much worse.
"I can hardly believe there’s still four drains blocked, after the awful time we and our neighbours have had. As a taxi driver, I know all too well that excess surface water can cause serious road accidents too.”
National Highways has responsibility for looking after the A49 and a spokesperson said teams would be out to inspect the area as a matter of priority.
Ian Doust, National Highways programme development manager, said: “We are going to inspect the area as a matter of priority and carry out any work accordingly."
