Last week seems to have all been about ditches.
In Snows Ride, Windlesham, a ditch has been reinstated but because it’s close to an area in which a development is proposed it has caused a fair amount of interest. I don’t think the two issues are joined.
Also in the Snows Ride area, I have used my allowance to fund a scheme to improve the drainage in Hatton Hill to take away a large volume of water that collects there whenever there is heavy rain.
In Chobham, a team from Surrey County Council's flood department, together with an officer from Surrey Heath Borough Council and a representative from one of the our contractors, came along to Philpot Lane.
Local resident Carole Mancini has organised a series of meetings to promote engagement with residents and officers in agencies concerned with flooding.
For those of you not familiar with the area, because Philpot Lane is very much in the Bourne flood plain, when there is a large volume of rainwater, the road is prone to flooding, at times making it impassable. If residents and local landowners keep the ditches clear then this enables the water to re-enter the watercourse. Part of the reason for this latest meeting was to map the ditches in Philpot Lane and Sandpit Hall Road.
Whilst looking at the ditches it became clear that many of them had become silted up especially in the culverts under the driveways. If pipes with insufficient bores are used when these driveways are constructed then over time they become obstructed and need to be cleared out.
The maps that now can be updated can be used to arrange maintenance either by highways or by residents if the ditches are privately owned.
Engagement with residents is one of the best parts of my role as a councillor and getting out and seeing issues on the ground improves how I can make decisions to support them.
- Cllr Richard Tear, Surrey County Councillor for Bagshot, Windlesham and Chobham
