People in Hucknall were left in a 'blind panic' after their street flooded again. Homeowners in Thoresby Dale were once again faced with a battle to 'stop flood water entering their homes' after heavy downpours on Monday evening (October 31).
Senior councillors have now called for a "formal investigation" as to how the street was able to flood despite huge efforts to prevent it from happening. Nottinghamshire County Council previously spent £430,000 on a flood prevention scheme for the area, with a new surface water pipe, along with new gullies for drainage, constructed a few years ago.
However, opposition Ashfield Independent councillors have now called for a "formal investigation", saying "the flood alleviation scheme has clearly been breached". Councillor John Wilmott, who represents Hucknall North for the Ashfield Independents on Ashfield District Council, and who also sits on the county council, said: "We have been speaking to residents around Thoresby Dale, every time it rains they go into a blind panic.
Read more: Hucknall families battle to stop water entering homes
"The [county] council have spent an enormous sum of money and need to get it right; they need to get it right to protect residents in what is expected to be a harsh winter." He added: "The flood alleviation scheme has clearly been breached and we will be asking serious questions of the council. In the meantime – we would like to assure residents that we are doing everything possible to help.”
Local resident Ian Stevens said he and others were up late on Monday night dealing with the flooding. The 63-year-old said that the amount of water in the street was partly due to the kick back from a water tank installed to prevent flooding.
"It certainly got high enough to get in the gardens," he told Nottinghamshire Live. "My neighbour noticed it was happening, we had to lift a man hole cover and start brushing the water in there so it wasn't coming in the houses, it probably lasted from 9pm until 11pm.
"By the time the council got here it was gone. We are quite angry about it, every time it falls on our shoulders. A neighbour has rigged up an alarm for when the water gets too high, that's going above and beyond. It would be a swamp without him."
Gary Wilis, a 52-year-old printer who lives in Thoresby Dale, said he returned from work at 9pm on Monday night to find the road blocked with water. He said: "I couldn't get on the drive, I had to go round and onto the pavement.
"It needs sorting as it's not going away too quick, and it didn't even seem that heavy rain. We had to lift the man hole cover, Severn Trent don't like it but we'd rather have water down there than in our homes. We put barriers around it and blocked the road off with vans so it was done safely."
Back in 2020, residents were left trapped in their houses after Storm Dennis battered the county, leaving what was described as 'the Thoresby lake' around their homes. Work on the flood defence measures started in October 2017, finishing the following year, and it was hoped the scheme would reduce the risk of it ever happening again.
Changes were made to the road system and it was hoped the new systems would channel any future flood water at the low point of the road into storage tanks. It came after severe and sudden weather in July 2013 brought more than 35mm of rain in one hour at its peak, and left some 600 homes badly damaged.
Gary Wood, Head of Highways and Transport at Nottinghamshire County Council, said: “We completely understand the concerns of residents on Thoresby Dale in Hucknall with the flooding experienced following intense rainfall last night.
“As soon as we were made aware, we attended site to investigate and assisted residents, however no properties were flooded and the water subsided overnight.
“This also involved us inspecting a culvert beneath Torkard Way, where we discovered a sandbag barrier had become dislodged, which our team duly replaced.
“We will be back at Thoresby Dale this afternoon (Tuesday) as to carry on with our investigation and as a precaution to pump out water if required and we will also be able to provide sandbags for any residents who remain concerned about their properties.
“We will be on standby throughout the week ready to respond if any further issues occur and will continue to work with partners to see what additional measures may be able to be implemented to provide an early warning and alleviate the impact of heavy rainfall in the area. We will be in touch with local residents this week to update them on our investigations.”
Nottinghamshire Live has contacted Severn Trent Water for comment but hasn't received a response at the time of publication.
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