Gullies: report local incidents

Here is what I sent to the Randwick Runner at the weekend:

It was great to see the recent gully cleaning programme in Randwick and surrounding areas by Gloucestershire County Council. The issue of flooding is taking a much higher priority locally since the floods we all experienced.

However myself and a number of residents are still concerned about the cleaning programme and also the ability of some drains to handle the quantities of water. We have made the County aware of some specific problems like the flooding at Humphreys End, Puckshole and the inability of the gullies at the end of Ash Lane to cope at times, but as always it is a matter of priorities: there are 135,000 gullies in Gloucestershire.

All the gullies in the County get a yearly clean and those at higher risk get three annual cleans. One issue is that the sludge removed when the gullies are cleaned, has traditionally been stacked on the side by the gully. This is apparently because disposal of it is difficult, as it contains oils and other chemicals off the roads. This stacking of sludge has created a problem at some sites like at Humphreys End where the sludge piled is now almost as high as the Cotswold stone wall it has been stacked against. Apart from damage to the wall the sludge is often washed straight back into the gullies with the next rain.

The County have now agreed to remove the sludge from several key sites when they do gully cleaning (see more background to this here). However the contractors forgot this last time (see here) but have, when it was reported, returned swiftly to remove it. It would be great if residents could keep an eye on this and also report any other difficulties re road gullies. If we are able to report each incident it is more likely longer term solutions will be considered for those sites.

The County's emergency gully clearance telephone number is: 08000 514514.

Watch a short video about gully cleaning in Gloucestershire here!