THE highways authority has beaten back claims it failed to address a series of blocked drains which ‘continually flood during bad weather’, despite an allegation the problem has persisted for almost a year.
Transport for Buckinghamshire (TfB) said it responded to calls that blocked drains on Burkes Road in Beaconsfield had been a concern for months at a time, despite claims it shut down complaints “without fixing the issue”.
PICTURED: A Google Maps image of Burkes Road in Beaconsfield
One resident called the authority out online in October 2020, claiming they had notified the council about Burkes Road “nearly a year ago”.
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They said the drains were still blocked in February this year, despite the authorities making meantime attempts to clear them.
TfB said it responded to each complaint but that parked cars along Burkes Road had at one time prevented some drains from being accessible.
“@BucksCouncil majority of manholes blocked on Burkes Road,” the person wrote in October 2020. “Reported this nearly one year ago [on FixMyStreet] and still not fixed. Why?”
They added: “The ticket was closed without being fixed. When were the drains last cleared? Please provide evidence of what was done and when. Who checks this work and signs off?”
Bucks Council replied saying first that there had been delays in clearance due to “recent flooding” – then, later, that the area would be ‘inspected’ within ten working days.
Then, in December, the authorities wrote that although drains had been cleared, access to “some drains were blocked by parked cars”. A follow-up cleanse would occur “ASAP”, it said.
PICTURED: A Twitter comment from a concerned resident
On February 3, 2021, the same person reported the drains were ‘still blocked and no communication from the council’. Adding: “Very poor”.
“[The] council are not doing their job,” they said. “When members of the public report issues online and create a case, they close them shortly after without fixing the issue.”
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A spokesperson for TfB said: “This winter season has seen exceptionally high levels of rainfall and groundwater levels are extremely high, with land surrounding many drainage systems saturated.
“In cases where the highway drainage functions through the use of large underground chambers called ‘soak-aways’, this can result in pooling of water around the drains.
PICTURED: A Twitter comment from a concerned resident
“Unfortunately, these conditions appear to be becoming more common than when the systems were first designed and our teams are working hard to maintain and improve drainage systems across the county. With numerous flooding events after the past few weeks, our priority will always be where there is a threat to property or the situation is making the highway dangerous for users.
“TfB is aware of the flooding on Burkes Road in Beaconsfield. The gullies were cleansed on the cyclic program in September 2020. Of the 73 gullies on the road, eight were missed due to cars obstructing access.
“TfB has received four FixMyStreet reports regarding the blocked drains on Burkes Road, all logged on October 12, 2020. We have provided a fully comprehensive response in accordance with each of the reports logged with an update on the works completed within a few days of receiving the report.”
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