Comments on car park flooding spark backlash
A councillor’s comment on a submerged Stafford car park has sparked a deluge of criticism on social media about the local authority allowing developers to build on the borough’s flood plains.
County and borough councillor Mark Winnington questioned motorists’ decisions to leave their vehicles on the Doxey Road long stay car park when flooding was expected.
But his post on the Friends of Stafford Facebook page met with responses asking why planning consent had been given for developments on local floodplains – and calls for action to tackle flooding risks such as dredging the River Sow.
The car park near the town’s Sainsbury’s branch has flooded on several occasions when there has been heavy rain and the nearby River Sow has risen. And it was deluged once more last weekend, with flood waters remaining on Monday – alongside a number of cars in the water.
Several car parks and roads in Stafford were affected by the weekend’s downpours and the swollen Sow, including Stafford Leisure Centre, Lammascote Gyratory, Sandon Road, Chell Road and Silkmore Lane.
The Picture House at Bridge Street was flooded, as were several areas of Victoria Park including a play area and the riverside footpath.
A area earmarked for the new Stafford Western Access Route off Doxey Road was also flooded.
But Councillor Winnington said the road would be raised above the current ground level when it was completed and opened. He added: “We are giving a part of that land back to Doxey Marshes, it helps the wildlife and ecology.
“There are policies in place around flood plains – and flood plains are identified as places that aren’t suitable for building. I would support that; we shouldn’t be building on flood plains because they have an important part to play.
“There has been a policy by the Environment Agency not to dredge rivers and brooks out as much as they used to; the reason given for that is to slow the spread of water. In a normal time it slows the water – and Doxey Marshes plays a huge part in that.
“When there is four inches of rain in a day even that gets overwhelmed. Even if you dredged out the river it would have little affect when there is an extreme flood.”
Stafford Borough Council spokesman Will Conaghan said: “The rain and flooding was on a scale we haven’t seen in Stafford for many years and led to several of our car parks being underwater and having to be closed off.
“We have also been available to our colleagues within the other services to provide help with the flooding, and been assisting them and some of our householders in cleaning up in the aftermath.”
Stafford Borough Council’s flood and coastal defence policy states: “As the local planning authority for our area Stafford Borough Council will take account of flooding risks in all matters relating to development control, including development plans and individual planning applications, in accordance with Planning Policy Guidance Notes.
“Stafford Borough Council is the relevant operating authority for flood defences on ordinary watercourses throughout the borough except for those in the area of the Sow and Penk Internal Drainage Board.
There are an estimated 500 km of ordinary watercourses in the borough for which Stafford Borough Council is the operating authority and an estimated 80km of ordinary watercourses for which the Sow and Penk Internal Drainage Board is the operating authority
“Operating authorities such as Stafford Borough Council are not obliged to carry out flood and coastal defence works. It is also important to note that the council does not normally accept responsibility for maintenance of flood defences on private land; this is the responsibility of the landowner.”
