Action call over village flooding

A CALL for action to be taken on flooding in Croft village has been made by Warrington North MP Helen Jones and local councillor Chris Vobe.
They say Heath Lane, Smithy Brow and nearby roads, have been prone to extensive flooding for more than three months, and that angry residents want the borough council to intervene urgently.
Cllr Vobe (pictured) said that many homes in the area had been affected by flooding before Christmas.
He said: “Gardens have been left literally under water for days, and the damage has spread to people’s kitchens and sitting rooms. More needs to be done by the council – and done urgently. This level of flooding simply shouldn’t be happening here in Warrington. One family have been in temporary accommodation since September.
“Unless the council plan to suggest that we all start kayaking down the streets, some intervention is needed!”
Cllr Vobe and the MP have written to the council asking for urgent action to be taken.
Ms Jones said: “My constituents in Croft have suffered the effects of this problem now for several months. That is why I have called on the council to intervene urgently.
“They must get to the root of these flooding problems and put an end to the distress this is causing local families.”
A borough council spokesperson said: “Flooding has unfortunately occurred at Heath Lane several times due to unusually heavy rainfall we experienced in 2012 which has saturated the land there, filled the drainage systems to capacity and caused the watercourse to over top. We have already begun making improvements to the systems
in this area and are continuing to work closely with United Utilities to resolve these issues. A full investigation into the wider problems and possible solutions is currently ongoing.
“Improvements are planned to be undertaken at the earliest opportunity in the next 4-6 weeks. These will include drainage improvements and additional gullies in the area. All affected residents will be receiving written updates on progress and plans to deal with the problems within the next week and will be kept up to date as proposals are ready to be delivered.”