Flooding Concerns

Flooding Concerns

28th of January, 2022

Flooding has been an issue in Catforth for some considerable time and the Parish Council raised several concerns with County Cllr Iddon, Deputy Leader of Lancashire County Council (LCC) and Cabinet Member for Highways and Transport.

His reply is printed opposite as it explains that LCC will only take enforcement action against heavy silting / blockages as a last resort and they are unable to provide a named officer to speak to the Parish Council or residents. Instead, they recommend that anyone wishing to give a descriptive report of a drainage problem should contact the Customer Access Team directly by telephone on: 0300 123 6780 during working hours. Alternatively, residents may send details to LCC via email at any time at: [email protected].

The letter also explains that LCC is a statutory consultee on all major planning applications and all applications are carefully considered and checked to ensure the proposed drainage strategy meets all the sustainable drainage criteria.

The Cabinet Member for Highways and Transport has changed to County Cllr Rupert Swarbrick but any concerns regarding flooding or the content of the letter should be sent to 

County Cllr Swarbrick
Stirling
Cumeragh Lane
Whittingham
Preston
PR3 2AJ

Bus. mobile:  07890 025761

Bus. email:  [email protected]

 

The letter also states that LCC cannot answer questions in relation to United Utilities sewer networks and any issues should be directed to them.

The Parish Council has been in correspondence with United Utilities since 2016 regarding the capacity of the Hoyles Lane sewer and our latest update following the flooding of Cottam Post Office states

Please be assured that funding is available to deliver a project in the area of Hoyles Lane in order to resolve the existing flooding issues, and also to accommodate the new development as part of the North West Preston Masterplan. We are in the process of working with our contract partner to produce the final design of the project. We will be able to provide a more accurate start date and further detail about the work involved when the final design has been approved. As we work towards this date, if a flooding issue arises, any impacted homeowner should call our 24 hour contact centre on 03456 723 723, so we can offer any necessary support. We will also continue to closely monitor the performance of the sewer network in this area.

Members of the Parish Council were asked if sandbags could be made available however, we do not have storage facilites or the statutory power to do this and we can only refer residents to the flooding advice on Preston City Council's website.

https://www.preston.gov.uk/article/1665/Flooding?ccp=true

You may also find this guide from Gocompare helpful. It contains information on preparing for a flood and protecting your property - https://www.gocompare.com/home-insurance/limiting-flood-risk-and-damage/