Urgent investigation into flood relief measures

TOWN Hall chiefs at Warrington have launched an urgent investigation into possible ways of helping villagers hit by flooding over the Christmas period.
Flood water pouring from farm land off Heath Lane, Croft, following heavy rain, affected a number of houses and also flooded the road.
It was repeat of similar, more serious, flooding around the Christmas period in 2012 which led to the borough council carrying out drainage improvement work.
Warrington North MP Helen Jones and local councillors Chris Vobe and Matt Smith have been liaising with residents and council chiefs.
Cllr Vobe (pictured) said: “Although a number of improvements were made to the drainage network after floods several years ago, households are still affected by water running off the farmland at the rear of their
homes.
“The water is not only flooding domestic properties, but also the public highway.
“Helen, Matt and I are committed to working with residents to find a solution to these problems.
“It cannot be acceptable that residents in this part of the village are continuously hit by flooding due to inadequate drainage from the farmland behind their homes.
“The level of flooding we saw at Christmas also impacted upon the highway. Although the law does not allow us to force land owners to improve their drainage when properties are affected, we are now exploring what can be done in light of the impact on the public road network.
“We are also supporting residents in their efforts to bid or funding from the Government’s flood protection scheme. We have ensured that senior environment officers at the Town Hall are involved in this issue and making it a top priority.”