Flooding on the High Firs estate

Ever since the heavy downpour on the night of 23-24 December, residents of the High Firs estate, and in particular those living in parts of Pinks Hill, have been subject to severe flooding. The water has run over common land to the rear of a some houses on Pinks Hill, affecting both the houses and the road. The problem has recurred with each significant rainfall.

I have been on site several times and have spoken to a number of residents; Kent Highways have attended the scene, as have other agencies, notably the Fire and Rescue Service. The problem, however, has proved intractable and a cause of huge distress to residents. Events took a turn for the worse on Thursday night, when there was another downpour. A row of sandbags were put in place to protect the Pinks Hill properties, diverting the water down the road and into Waylands. A number of storm drains were opened with the intention of draining the water off. However, parts of the road, and in particular the cul de sac section of Waylands, were under quite deep water - as the picture, which I took when I visited on Friday evening, attests.

The main difficulty has been to establish the root cause of the flooding, though it is thought widely that it may well be overflow from the nearby Highways Agency lagoon, which is designed to capture runoff from the A20. If the lagoon is full, or is for any other reason unable to take the water running from the main road, then the water has nowhere to go but over the common land and into Pinks Hill.

The lagoon has a history of problems. Over a year ago, I worked with Kent Highways officers to check with the Highways Agency that adequate maintenance was taking place (silting up of the lagoon had been a cause of flooding in the past). The situation appeared to be under control (post of 23 October 2012), and it may well be that, even if the lagoon is the source of the flooding, this may be nothing to do with lack of maintenance - for example, the lagoon may simply not be big enough to take the current volumes of water. In any case, this is what needs to be established.

Highways Agency staff have been on site on a number of occasions, but what is clearly needed is a fuller and more systematic discussion of the problem than has so far been possible. Many residents want a site meeting with all the key parties present, and that is what is needed. I will continue to press to get one in place.