After all the delays, frustrations and the waiting, construction of the East Riding of Yorkshire Council funded second and third phases of the new Gilberdyke surface water drainage system is underway and should be complete within a few weeks. This £85k to £90k investment includes a 300mm diameter culvert which will connect the previously flooded properties on Westbrook Close and Westbrook Road to the new 900mm diameter culvert, funded by Gilberdyke Parish Council as phase one of the overall scheme. This first phase was completed some months ago by the same contractors and performed as designed during the heavy rainfall experienced on August 3rd this year - which offered some peace of mind for the residents flooded in June 2007.
Once complete this new drainage scheme will take a significant amount of surface water out of the village during heavy rainfall, reducing the pressure on the Yorkshire Water system, and existing surface water systems (which have also been improved by the East Riding of Yorkshire Council, the Lower Ouse Internal Drainage Board and Network Rail), therefore almost all Gilberdyke and Sandholme residents will benefit from a reduced flood risk in the future.Although the conventional wisdom is that this type of work is best not done in the winter, but the on-going delays resulting from the mischief making from a very small number of residents have left the Council and their contractors with little option but to push on regardless.
I know that the delays experienced on the first phase did cost the Gilberdyke taxpayer more financially, and has had a knock on effect - but we are very lucky that this section was up and running before the rains seen in August.
Credit for this should be given not just to the Parish Council and the Flood Action Group, but also the Lower Ouse Internal Drainage Board, the East Riding of Yorkshire Council Land Drainage section, the consultants Mason Clark Associates, and the contractors L & K Warkup – all of whom had to put up with so much, but prevailed.
I hope that fewer problems are experienced on the second and third phases and the work is completed as soon as possible.
5 comments:
Its wonderful to see work underway again. Ideally we wanted to see this completed three years ago but we all know the problems encountered and overcome along the way. Lets look forward to final completion!
Thanks to everyone involved in getting the job done. We had previous floods but each time it all died down before anything was done about it. The flood group forced things through this time and did not let it fade away again.
We are in danger of repeating issues from Phase 1.
ERYCC said that they would contact the residents before work was started to enable sheds, trees,plants and fish ponds be prepared. Mrs Ward is the first to be affected. Warkups turned up at her house with very little notice,fortunately her son was able to agree access.The route of the pipe work has in it's path, garages,sheds plants, trees and even a fishpond. I do hope notice will be given and not just turn up and have to delay the work further because of a fish pond.
Still mike whitley continues his campaign. Ten of his family and neighbours signed a request for an election following the resignation from the parish council of one member on health grounds. Consequence of this is another election for the parishioners to pay - at a ball park cost of £3000. That's democracy for you but its a real pity these ten are not required to pay for it instead of the parishioners. They may have been reluctant to throw their money away.
The photo of the trench seems to show a pipe possibly a roof drain from the garage. I trust all the branch pipes from properties into the old ditch will be connected into the new drain.
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