Many areas of the UK have seen inches of snow fall already this winter, and it has caused various problems. Whilst transport was the main area in which the UK’s residents felt the effects, residents in the village of Cleadon also found themselves facing the problems of snow-blocked drains- which resulted in heavy flooding.
Whilst many breathed a sigh of relief when the snowfall started to melt and subside earlier in the month, this certainly wasn’t the case for those living in the Cleadon Lea area, who found themselves having to contend with the aftermath- in the form of severe flooding.
However, as plans to try and prevent homes from becoming flooded have now been given the go-ahead, future snowfall might not prove so disastrous.
At a Boldon, Cleadon & Whitburn community area forum meeting, it was agreed that rather than carry out simple drain maintenance, the size of the existing drainage pipe would be doubled in size- from 150 mm to 300 mm- in a bid to put a stop to the problem of excess water flowing from nearby fields.
One local councillor commented:
“We need to get some movement on this as soon as possible. I don’t think it’s acceptable to the residents that this hasn’t been sorted out yet.”
Whilst other proposals were put forward, the increased pipe capacity is likely to be the only significant change in the foreseeable future.