Flooding as rain leaves drains overflowing

Cascading water following torrential rain has left Dales residents calling for answers from their council.
Heavy rain forecastHeavy rain forecast
Heavy rain forecast

Rick Lilford, of Greenaway Lane, Darley Dale, claims that despite contacting Derbyshire County Council several times over water streaming down Ameycroft Lane, nothing has been done.

He believes the problem has been caused by a blocked culvert, which is preventing the water from running underneath the road as it usually would.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Rick said: “The current rain situation has sent a torrent of water down the lane and into Hackney Road, which is now causing problems further down.”

Heavy rain forecastHeavy rain forecast
Heavy rain forecast

He added that despite the fact that the road is narrow and a bus route, the council has yet to do anything to address the problem.

On the other side of the River Derwent, Daphne and Barry Millward have been desperately trying to divert water away from their home in the centre of Oker village for several years.

Daphne said: “The water goes through the air grate of the house and it’s going into the foundation.”

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

The family has owned the house for 42 years, and they claim the drainage has been an ongoing issue for more than three decades.

Daphne said she and her neighbours have resorted to putting sand bags out to deal with the flooding.

“The problem is the drains,” she said.

“On the far side of the road there are 17 drains, but on this side of the road there are only two.

“The road cambers and the water just runs down like a river.”

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

In response to the problem in Oker, a Derbyshire County Council spokesman said: “The gulleys that take water into the drains were clear but the extreme and heavy rainfall which has affected the whole country was too much for any drainage system to cope with and the excess water ran down the nearest available unprotected slope.

“We have already written to the homeowner twice to offer advice and provided him with sandbags last Thursday to help him divert water and we’ll continue to do whatever we can to help residents protect their properties during this ongoing bad weather.”

The council had not responded with regards to Ameycroft Lane by the time the newspaper went to press.

To view a video of the flooding problem in Darley Dale, visit the Matlock Mercury website www.matlockmercury.co.uk

To comment on this story online, visit the Mercury’s Facebook page www.facebook.com/matlockmercury