Swanley Sitrep

With further heavy rainfall and flooding taking place, I went to look at the situation in Pinks Hill, Waylands and adjoining roads both last night and again this morning.

Last night, water was once more flowing from the ditch by the A20 across the common land into Pinks Hill and down to Waylands. Once more, the cul de sac in Waylands was heavily inundated, though the water had not quite reached the houses. I asked Kent Highways for both extra flood sacks for the most immediately affected houses in Pinks Hill and for tankers for taking action on the ditch and for Waylands. The flood sacks certainly arrived; I am a lot less sure about the tankers.

This morning, the situation had eased considerably in terms of water runoff, but the ditch itself was very full. I spoke to some local residents and some Highways Agency contractors who were carrying out some cleansing of the (Kent Highways) road drains.

What is a lot less clear is what will happen with the works in the ditch. There is little doubt that the ditch is filling up from another source, whether the A20 itself, the lagoon or sources to the other side of the A20. What is much less clear is what the precise root of that inflow is, and whether and how the current works - which appear in any case to have been suspended - will ease this. I am asking for answers to these questions from the HA.

Pinks Hill flooding: the misery continues

Water running onto Pinks Hill at about 3PM

Yet again, heavy rainfall in the latter part of the week has caused severe flooding in Pinks Hill and neighbouring roads. I visited again this afternoon and toured the site with some local residents.

The flow of water on to Pinks Hill was very rapid, though I understand somewhat less so than was the case this morning. In that case it must have been an absolute torrent earlier in the day. The water continues to run from the ditch next to the A20 across the common land to Pinks Hill. Nearby homes are currently protected by flood sacks. The water then runs down the road, diverting into Waylands. However, the water there has been contained and I understand that both Kent Highways and the Highways Agency have been on site with suckers and tankers.

The Highways Agency was due to start work on the ditch and pipes that run from it on Thursday (post of 27 January). This work did commence, though so far it appears to have been limited to tree clearing. The ditch is now very full of water indeed, across a wider area and at a much higher level than I have seen before. With this depth of water, it is not clear how and when the works can be taken forward.

High water levels in the ditch

We also examined the A20 lagoon and found it to be at a worryingly high level. The Highways Agency installed a pump there yesterday, though thus did not appear to be running when we visited.

Residents have asked that the ditch be pumped out to stop the flow of water at its source. I have asked Kent Highways to do this, although it is not clear when the optimal time would be to carry out pumping.

This is now turning into a matter of enormous concern and frustration for residents. It appeared after our site visit that we had a way forward; we now need to establish whether we have simply seen our course of action delayed by the very severe downpours of the last couple of days, or whether that way forward is no longer valid. If the latter is the case, we urgently need another.

£2.5 million extra for potholes

Kent's roads have inevitably taken serious damage during the recent floods and heavy rainfall. In recent years, the County Council has launched 'find and fix' initiatives to tackle potholes as we emerge from winter. Now KCC has allocated an extra £2.5 million from reserves for an immediate programme of pothole repairs.

Kent Highways will aim to fix potholes rapidly once they are reported. The best thing to do is to report a pothole online. Details of how to do it, and of the detail of KCC's initiative, can be found in this press release.

Update on Swanley flooding

Residents in Pinks Hill and other neighbouring roads such as Waylands were once more affected by flooding overnight and into today. I visited the area again during the late morning to see the state of the problem.

On Friday afternoon, the Highways Agency told me that they had a gulley sucker on standby for the area, and I know that both HA and Kent Highways staff were in attendance during the night. Nonetheless, the impact on residents has still been severe.

More encouragingly, the HA also told me that everything was lined up for the planned works on the ditch and pipes that should drain the runoff from the A20 (see post of 27 January) to start next Thursday, 6 February.