Flood averted: Big Society in action?

Some might remember my comments about the Big Society in the local press - see here - well I do have serious reservations as I noted then - we hear almost daily about threats and cuts to services and more. But on a brighter note last week I was down by the allotments at a meeting trying to sort out water for the site...well as we talked the rain got heavier and heavier...

Photos: taken after the water subsided to commemorate the wee flood

At this point in Humphreys End the road floods to some 30 cm deep very rapidly across the whole road - and indeed with the gulley blocked we watched it grow from a puddle to more...indeed when we got to wading to clear the gulley the water was nearly over my wellies....

Well you'll be delighted to learn that we managed to clear the gulley and the water rapidly subsided. Flood averted. We are due for gulley cleaning tomorrow in this area - at least in this case the gulleys took the water once they were clear.

Randwick, Whiteshill and Ruscombe News from your District Councillor

I've just started delivering my latest news letter - the contents of which are below - apols for delay - I usually try to get it out in January but due to a twisted ankle and the snow it has been delayed. Please also use the 'labels' or the search engine on this blog to find out more about my activities.

Dear Resident,

I feel very fortunate to live in and be part of these lively communities. We have a great village shop, schools, churches, clubs and pubs, plus many wonderful local events like street parties, the Randwick Wap, pancake races, art exhibitions, theatre and more. These all go a long way towards strengthening our communities - something that is close to my heart.

As residents will know, I have nearly completed four years as the local District Councillor. I would be proud to serve a further term and I hope you will consider voting for me this May.

This newsletter gives a taste of some of my recent actions and projects. As I hope it shows, I remain passionate about social and environmental justice and am committed to working with others to achieve the changes we need.

I would like to thank all those who have supported me and the local Green Party for funding this annual newsletter.

Cllr. Philip Booth, Stroud District Councillor for Randwick, Whiteshill and Ruscombe ward

Want to talk to Philip?

Philip would love to hear your views, answer your questions or try to help with local problems. Email Philip on philip.booth2@virgin.net or phone 01453755451 or write to: 2 The Laurels, Bread Street, Ruscombe, Stroud GL66EL.

Some recent successes

Philip has:

• Led a successful campaign to get a bus shelter at Stratford
• Set up the Stroud Valleys Water Forum that is taking a lead in developing an effective flood policy for the District
• Initiated a Countywide scheme for libraries to loan out energy monitors to help people cut their energy use
• Supported residents who have had problems with planning issues
• Helped get a new culvert and grill at Acres Place, Puckshole, to reduce flooding
• Worked with Whiteshill and Ruscombe Parish Council to establish allotments in the area Road
  

Some recent actions by your councillor:

Seeking more accountability at the Council

I have joined other Greens in calling for:

• Councillor expenses to be published fully
• Ending the extra cash paid to councillors who use larger cars
• More openness around decisions to close joint-use sports centres
• The Council to apologise to tenants for the damning report on our Council housing stock (with the exception of two other councillors, all refused to make an apology)

Working for better planning

• I continue to oppose development on the Ruscombe Valley fields and at other key local sites that are currently threatened
• I have been one of four councillors on an extensive inquiry into the planning process which has made key recommendations for improvements

Pressing for transport improvements

• I have helped to gain the '20 is Plenty' traffic calming signs. I oppose County Council measures to remove these.
• I continue to seek other local traffic calming measures (not humps and bumps)
• I continue to work for 20mph speed limits in residential areas to reduce casualties and encourage more walking and cycling
• I want to see a proper bus station in Stroud and improvements to cycle facilities

Protecting our wildlife and environment

• I have been involved in projects locally such as clearing the local brook, supporting the local Hedgehog Hospital and helping develop the Stroud-based Global Bee Project to protect solitary bees
• I have sought improvements to local grit bins and road gullies
• I helped ensure that Severn Trent has taken action on sewage systems locally. This has led to a significant reduction in sewage incidents

Open Homes Success

• I initiated and help organise the hugely popular Eco-renovation Open Homes weekend each September. This involves local homes with renewable energy and energy efficiency measures opening to the public and local renewable energy installers promoting their products

Tackling fuel poverty, energy security and climate change

• I chaired a scrutiny inquiry that has made recommendations for financing energy efficiency and renewable measures
• I am seeking opportunities for the Council to invest and make serious financial returns on investments in renewable energy

Working on your behalf

• Opposing a large incinerator at Javelin Park near Stonehouse or elsewhere in the County
• Actively working to ensure our waste management is more sustainable and cost effective
• Initiated a wood fuel project in local woods
• Raised key issues as Stroud’s representative on the Wessex Water Customer Liaison Panel
• Sought improvements to services at Stratford Park Leisure Centre including measures to improve cleanliness and energy efficiency
• Supported others to successfully oppose large cuts in funding to arts

See last years report here.

Meeting with County councillor: gulley success, stiles and 20mph

Tony Blackburn (pictured) - not the DJ - is a resident of Randwick and since May is our local Tory County Councillor. I've tried to meet several times with Tony since his election but it has been mostly grabbed moments at Parish meetings. However this week I invited Tony to my home for a meeting - I wanted to share views and also to update Tony on some of the issues we have faced locally. I can never understand why in some areas councillors don't seem to want to work together.

Anyhow I have been delighted by Tony's interest in getting some of the issues sorted - he admits he is new to this but has already thrown himself in to trying to sort some of the County Council issues that we have battled with for some time. This post covers a couple of the issues we discussed - but certainly not all the issues:

Ruscombe Road Gulleys Success - well I am delighted to say that after over a year and many emails from me and particularly from one resident we have finally sorted some of the problem at Humphreys End. As these first two pictures show they have been blocked by leaves and silt for a long while - they get cleaned but as picture three shows the stuff from the gulleys has been piled on the edges - hence when it rains it washes back down - plus over the years the piles have got higher have been damaging the walls behind - indeed in places the piles must have been over 2 feet tall.

Anyhow the County promised to remove the piles of dirt - I think it was as long ago as last year - anyhow nothing happened but now after another bid by the resident and more emails we finally have the piles of dirt removed and instructions to the contractors not to pile the dirt on the side again. We'll see how that goes. See a previous blog on this here.

One success is that the gulleys in that area including Redhouse are highlighted as high priority so these are cleared 3 times per year. Anyhow I also shared with Tony other gulleys we've had problems with like at the end of Ash Lane.

20 mph for Randwick, Whiteshill and Ruscombe - I've argued the case for 20 mph many times - see particularly my blog entry here - Tony has already actively taken up the case for a 20 mph outside Whiteshill School - I hope he will also press for wider changes as casualties happen in all places - it is about trying to change the culture so that cars have respect for others when they travel through our neighbourhoods.

In terms of 20 mph I was pleased to see that Jenny Jones, a Green on the London Assembly helped write a scrutiny report "Braking Point" which achieved all party consensus for boroughs having the power to go ahead with 20mph across residential areas. Download it here.

Meanwhile Green Party Islington councillor, Katie Dawson, has been granted £1million to implement the 20mph zone on all council-controlled residential roads, mainly through signs, although speed bumps and CCTV cameras may later be used. In fact I had a London Radio station call me to get hold of Katie's number to talk on the show about it - and if not would I talk - well that was until they realised I was a wee way away from Islington!

Anyway I am seeking a way forward with the Parish as well to see if we can have a few more traffic calming measures like gateways - but not bumps!

Stiles in Ruscombe valley - a resident recently reported the damage again to these stiles - I have written a couple of emails on this to the County as my understanding was that if stiles and gates are not kept in proper repair the authority can do the job itself and send the bill to the owner. The Wheelers Walk stile has completely gone a while ago - with only the step left there - hence the motorbikes entering the field. The other stiles are damaged and dangerous to use - they are on the footpath parallel to the brook further upstream. We are still awaiting a reply on these.

Whiteshill and Ruscombe Parish Council meet last night

Well it was a full Parish Council meeting with lots to discuss - I got there after a Woodcraft Folk Elfin group meeting learning Salsa - great stuff and we had two new members - spaces still available so do contact if you are interested (see more here)....

Photo: not winner of logo competition (sadly)

So what did we discuss at Parish - well minutes will be out soon on the website so this is just a taster...

Some of the issues I mentioned included:

- Allotments - there was an update on progress re the Allotment Working Group - see background here - a meeting is now planned with a local landowner re possibility of using a corner of land locally - exciting stuff.

- Ward name change - SDC lost the original letters sent last summer. These were resent and I got no response to three emails. I have now found a way forward and am hopeful we will hear more re how best to proceed on this! See more about name change here.

- '20 is Plenty' - I sometimes despair at the pace things go at - a 20mph voluntary limit was suggested a long while back when we learnt we could not have a mandatory speed limit despite being told we could have - anyhow that is all in many blogs long ago - things are now moving again - still issues to addres - is the data collected already sufficient? Or do we need to book radar again? Both Randwick and this Parish have in my view carried out sufficient consultation - the Warbler, Randwick Runner and my newsletter in the past plus this blog and many Parish meetings and minutes have all publicised 20 is Plenty - there was even a couple of Coffee Morning consultations in Whiteshill Village Hall. The next step is to get quotes and agree designs for Signs, Stickers and leaflets - then we need to agree location of signs - Whiteshill and Ruscombe have a meeting, where at 10am on Sat 28th, some Parish councillors and I, will walk around Parish to agree locations and numbers of signs. Hopefully Randwick will also have something similar - then we need Highways agreement....

- Gullies - see more here - a local landowner and resident have made noises re a number of key drains - a site meeting is planned soon.

- Grit bins - I have requested the one in Humphreys End to be dug deeper as it has fallen over (or been pushed over) on 4 occasions in the last year. See here my letter to press that was in the Citizen this week. Highways have agreed to come out re the missing bins in Far Westrip.

Other stuff

Plenty of other stuff also got discussed - the Parish logo competition was judged - two winners identified (entries had to be from inside the Parish) - hopefully be able to show them on this blog soon - one of them was Keith Bates, a member of the Village Hall Committee and also a Ruscombe Brook Action Group member - the basketball hoop was also considered - a grant is being applied fort and quotes obtained (see more here) - approval was also given to repair the iron railings in Ruscombe. What else - I've run out of time - must go and eat.....

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!

Update: Puckshole river, road closure, gulleys, chicane and hoop

Update on local issues below - plus must send congrats here to Painswick on best kept village award, to Farmers Market for being in the BBC Food Oscars and Olivas deli and cafe in Painswick - fantastic coffee and a great great place!!

1. The chicane on the Plain, Whiteshill - the chicane is damaged. It is meant to be on a works schedule of repairs but still no joy despite reporting it several times (see here). Warning barriers have been up there or lying down there for many months and are still there. I and others have been concerned to ensure that when the repair eventually happens that the cyclists' cut-through is maintained. There is also a concern re parked cars - in that when the cycle route reopens cyclists understandably do not want cars parked blocking the route as they did before.

2. Puckshole river - the river is no more (see photo of river) - how many months and phone calls and emails?? But at last great news indeed! For those who don't know a metre plus wide river has run down the road there for many months - damaging the road and leading to pedestrians having to walk in the middle of the road in this narrow dangerous lane. I have also had concerns that in darker evenings and icier weather conditions would get even worse. Some of us took diorect action with spades this last weekend on the brook close to this site - see here.

3. Puckshole road closure - the road is to be repaired at the end of this month - closed for 4 days -it is patchwork rather than the whole lot as capital funding seems unavailable - so no doubt the spring in the middle of the road will be back soon.

4. Drains and Gulleys - all the answers to my latest queries and previous questions that I have had from the County Council indicate this will clearly be an on-going problem for all of us - it would seem that without additional resources for more maintenance and improvements some of the gulleys will be unable to cope with the water. Virtually any heavy rain seems to lead to problems in this area. Having seen elsewhere other designs for gulleys, I have asked if the County think these might be suitable to help?

4. Basketball hoop - the Parish have approved the hoop going in the field but installation costs have gone up so final approval has been delayed. See previous blog on this here - and below a lovely comment from one of the potential users of the hoop - let us hope construction begins soon!!

I am over the moon that you all have managed to retrieve the spair ring from stratford park and I look forward to its installment in Ruscombe. I think that many people will benefit from this, it will certainly encourage youngsters to play basketball when they otherwise would not have, along with being a source of practice for persons such as myself. I have at least ten friends who I know as basketball players in the area (Ruscombe and Randwick) and I'm sure ther are others who I will meet at the court. Basketball is a very social sport in this sence, as one player may head to the court for some shooting practise, find another player there doing the same, then there is a high chance that the two players would have a game, then most likely make friends, so in this sence having the court would bring together the youth who otherwise would not have come together. As I said, I am really looking forward to this new asset to Ruscombe. Again many thanks.

Gully cleaning lorry in Ruscombe on Tues

Since my last blog on drains I've been having further correspondence with Highways and the GCC Cabinet member responsible. Infact strictly speaking we are talking road gullies not drains (see below).

I'm still pushing for SUDs (see previous blogs/label below), but also for a review - maintenance is at best poor and many need redesigning or improving to cope with the short sharp quantities of water - apparently Highways will be looking at the issue.

Photo: Gully cleaning lorry in Ruscombe on Tues

I've also now heard that our call for action on Humphreys End has been accepted - although there is no date yet - this is great as flooding there can get bad - several times this year it has been more than 20cm deep.

Lastly I made a note of several blocked gullies over the weekend and was going to phone on Tuesday after work - as I drove back, there was the lorry cleaning all the drains through Ruscombe and more - they are now perhaps anticipating my moves??! Don't forget if you see a Gully blocked you can call the emergency gully clearance service on 08000 514514.

What is a Gully? Road gullies allow water to drain away from roads and pavements. They consist of a gully grating and a gully pot underneath, and are situated at the side of the road by the kerb. They are meant to be a quick and efficient removal of rainwater from the highway. See more from SDC here on drains and from GCC on gullies here.

Drains and climate change denial letter

I came home from work and amongst the 97 emails (all today) waiting was an email that the two drains at the bottom of Red House Lane were blocked, as are the two drains at the bottom of Ruscombe Road/Bread Street. They have apparently been blocked since the weekend - so this does not seem to fit with the statement that after rains the drains are cleared each time in key locations (see previous blogs and photos by putting drains into search facility!). Highways have been informed - we await with interest.

Photo: Ruscombe valley

Meanwhile I've just dashed off a reply to The Citizen re the correspondent Martin Kirby - sometimes he is spot on but articles like the one this week are seriously damaging - too many people today still don't believe climate change exists - how on earth can we begin to tackle it when that view is widely held? Anyhow here is my letter:

Martin Kirby had another go at Greens on Monday calling us the 'loopy league' for reiterating what the scientists are saying about climate change (17/03/08). In a comment piece, that Mr Kirby seems to deny climate change exists, he dismisses concerns about recent weather. I'm not so sure others would agree; like perhaps Longford residents whose homes were flooded again or the businesses that lost many thousands of pounds at Cheltenham races?

No one is pretending that the science around climate change is fully understood or that every piece of bad weather is a sign of climate change. Indeed it is also important to note that our vulnerability to flooding is going up mainly due to flood plain developments.

However the most recent Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and it's analysis by 2,500 of the world's top climate scientists shows our role in causing global warming and that our weather is set to become more extreme. They paint a scary future if we don't act. Furthermore not one of the 928 climate change-related articles published in peer-reviewed journals in ten years has doubted the cause of global warming, yet more than half of the published articles in the popular press have done just that.

We need responsible journalism. Climate change is deadly serious and critically urgent. We can tackle it together, but the longer we leave it the more devastating are the consequences.

Philip Booth

More photos of drains!

I never thought I would get so interested in drains....see many previous posts - these three drains are in Humphreys End at the end of Ruscombe road - a lot of the newer silt piled up has now been removed - indeed I didn't know there were three drains - always thought there were two there!

Anyhow the nature of the bank and siting of the drains means they clog up very quickly - indeed it was 18 inches deep in water just a couple of weeks ago.

I have sent these latest photographic masterpieces to Highways - they have already got back to contractors about the importance of removing silt away from drains and in cases like Ash Lane to remove the silt completely - it seems more radical action is needed if these drains are not to continue to block regularly - as the photos show they are already half covered in debris yet were only just cleaned.

Puckshole earth and river plus more on drains

Puckshole earth bank: I have had calls from two residents in Puckshole - the company that repaired the new bank where there was the landslip appear to have left a pile of extra earth on the edge of the road - effectively they have made the road narrower by a little - one resident reports that earth is washing off this pile into the drains and is concerned about blocking drains (see photo). Highways have now checked the site but I understand that they report that they do not intend to take any further action.

Puckshole river: the District will now try to contact the owners of the fields regarding the 'river' going along the road (see photo) to see if the causes can be tackled. See original blogs on this here.

More on drains: below is a letter sent to Highways and the County's Cabinet member for the Environment:

I have had phone calls from several residents about the unsatisfactory state of drains. These have all been attended to very promptly after calls to the drains hotline. However there seem to have been on-going problems at a number of road drains over recent years in the Randwick area - and no doubt other areas.

The level of rainfall during the last year would indicate very strongly that many drains are insufficient to cope with the quantity of water. Indeed Highways report that while there is only a yearly clean of drains they do, after every heavy rain, deal with drains in Randwick (i). This is still unsatisfactory as often these drains block very quickly and cause flooding across roads before Highways can get to them.

I am sure the county council is acutely aware of the need to adapt to the inevitable consequences of climate change, which include more intense and frequent rainfall (ii) and that the existing highway drainage system was not designed to cope with the type of storms we can expect now. I am also aware that the County has invested in redesigning some local key drains like at Ash Lane and Humphreys End so that they can cope with larger flows of water/debris etc. However they are both still inadequate to cope despite apparently the Ash Lane site having the largest tank available.

1. Drainage review - I would welcome news on how the County plans to review drainage and in particular what extra investment is planned for this in the light of the recent budget? In particular whether Randwick can be included in improvements.

Two other key connected issues I would welcome more information on:

2. Urban drainage can’t be looked at in isolation and what goes on in the catchment – for example river flood prevention schemes will almost always have an impact on the free flow of drainage systems. I know the County are looking at flooding issues seriously and would welcome news on how this will be considered within Highways following the County's report on flooding. I understand there are some good examples like the Glasgow Strategic Drainage Plan where a new plan is delivering an integrated and sustainable approach to sewerage and drainage master planning. Clearly there is also the issue of development planning and new build on floodplains: it is not necessarily the case that the development shouldn’t go ahead, but specific, detailed and early consultation is vital. In Holland I understand houses in the worst flooded areas are now built on poles so that when flood waters rise so do the homes.

3. Sustainable Urban Drainage systems: some councils like Oxford seem to be using these effective techniques more widely in Highways than Gloucestershire does. Indeed it would appear at present there is not a policy document on this within the County? I accept the Government is failing to lead on this issue and I have had much unproductive correspondence with Ministers and Defra, however SUDS is clearly the direction we should be moving in.

Cllr. Philip Booth, Stroud District councillor for the Randwick, Ruscombe and Whiteshill ward

Notes:

(i) Key drains in need of additional attention include:
1. The dip at Humphreys End was nearly a foot deep in water
2. Bottom of Redhouse Lane
3. Far Westrip - opposite telephone box
4. Ash Lane
5. Two sites near Court Farm, Randwick

(ii) The existing highway drainage system was designed to cope with storms which occur once every 40 years. Over recent years these severe storms are occurring with increasing frequency, with the type of storm that used to happen once every ten years now occurring once or twice a year. The situation is not helped by the increasing proportion of land, especially in built-up areas, that is now paved, lessening the water's ability to simply drain into the ground. This can only get worse with more houses, businesses and roads in the pipeline.

Drains, noisy recycling and Legionella in showers

An update on these three issues...

Photo: Calender by local photographer Mike Gallagher - this was the proto-type for one that the Ruscombe Valley Action Group was thinking about producing. Costs were too high and some were concerned we would not sell enough to make any money - anyhow I'm very pleased to have this and use it every day - of course need to turn the page to Feb now!

Drains

See many previous blogs on this topic - particularly 14th and 17th January 2008. Below is one of my emails to Highways which I enclose here to cover part of the background on this issue. Anyhow apparently the drains all get attended to once a year! The actual programme of maintenance is not available but the sites listed below are all, also attended to after heavy rain, as they are known areas that get blocked. Infact Ash Lane site had works last year to put in the maximum size drain to cope with the water - it still doesn't cope - in other countries they have drains much larger than that. In Norway I have seen monster sized drains! I think Highways may need to review this issue - anyhow Humphreys End has also had work done on it - so the answer to my question as to whether we could get the drains improved further by Highways is no.

This is unsatisfactory - and clearly an issue that needs taking further with Highways and the County - if flooding is set to get worse we need to put in more permenant improvements rather than unblocking on each occasion it rains...I'll write another letter but other residents could also write...

The other issue about contractors putting muck they clear out of drains on the side of the road will be addressed following our correspondence. At Humphreys End the muck sucked out or shovelled away was piled up around the drain - as soon as it rains again it goes straight back into the drain...the trouble is the muck is costly to dispose of so is easier to leave on site - however in some cases it will now be removed and in others contractors will be reminded to put it on roadside more carefully.

Lastly apparently the hole in the road near Court Farm some consider is due to water forced down BT pipes - they don't agree - a road closure may well be imminent if funding can be found to attend to it.

Re Drains/Gullies

There seem to have been on-going problems at a number of road drains over recent years in the Randwick area. The levels of rainfall during the last year would seem to indicate very strongly that at several sites the drains are insufficient to cope with the water. This could be due to the lack of regular maintenance or the need to redesign them to cope with larger flows of water/debris etc?

I have had phone calls from several residents about the unsatisfactory state of these drains, although I would like to note that they were attended to very promptly after my phone call to your drains hotline. In the light of this I would request that the following drains are reviewed to see if they can be improved. There maybe others but these are the ones identified as needing extra work so far:

1. The dip at Humphreys End was nearly a foot deep in water - the drain has now been cleared although debris/sludge etc has been piled up too close to the drain and will no doubt be washed down when we have more rain.
2. Bottom of Redhouse Lane
3. Far Westrip - opposite telephone box
4. Ash Lane
5. Two sites near Court Farm, Randwick

Noisy recycling

Some residents have been woken at 6.15 by noisy recycling. I wrote to the Officer concerned at the District to clarify the situation and also met with him yesterday very briefly. It would seem that Veolia, who have the contract, are of the opinion that from April next year they would be considering moving to a five day week. The impact of this should overcome the noise created during the early hours as their start time will revert to between 7am and 7:30am. This is not yet set in concrete but it seems likely that this will happen - although it is clearly a long way off!

In the meantime, there appears to be little that can be done other than to alert Veolia to the issue and in particular ask them to treat the matter of placing glass into the vehicle stillages (containers) more carefully during the initial collections each morning. Perhaps if others are also experiencing a problem it could be worth letting the District know.

Legionella in Showers

See my blog on 29th January about Legionella in the showers at Stratford Park. The good news is that the showers are working again. I have also received assurances that District councillors will be kept informed in future when such disruptions to service occur. I also requested they consider a discount when a service is prolonged. This issue will be raised with the contractors by District officers - to me it is unacceptable to charge full price for services when showers are not available - particularly when many including myself have some concerns re the dangers of chlorine and are keen to remove it after a swim.

See for example the Daily Telegraph regarding the dangers of taking baby swimming classes before the age of two - research indicates it may double the risk of a child developing asthma and chronic lung problems. Chlorine is also known to irritate some skin (especially some skin conditions) and has apparently been associated with skin rashes like eczema.

The other concern is triahalomethanes - why should they matter to you in pools? Well trihalomethanes are carcinogens that result from the combination of chlorine and organic compounds in water. These chemicals do not degrade very well and are usually stored in the fatty tissues of the body. At first glance, that may not seem so bad, but when you consider that some of those “fatty tissues” consists of the breasts, and by extension, mother’s milk, you begin to understand why some people are growing increasingly concerned. These chemicals also known as organochlorides have been found in blood and semen. The result of this are thought by some to be potentially extremely harmful since organochlorides can cause mutations in DNA, suppress the immune function of the body and interfere with cell growth. Various other research into chlorine also links it with other concerns - read more here.

Randwick Parish Council: drains, lighting and more

I am just back a wee while ago from Randwick woods - all wonderful in the misty afternoon light - anyhow I thought I had better do a quick update re Randwick Parish meeting on Thursday night - I walked up to the Village Hall as usual only to remember on arrival that it was one of the months that the meeting was at the Scout Hall - ****!**!!!****

Photo: View across to Ash Lane

I managed to get there for 7.30 and various items discussed - drains being one of them - it led me to sending another email to Highways - see below (i) - plus the plans to consider turning off some street lights are moving ahead slowly - Whiteshill and Ruscombe Parish have already done their consultation on this - anyhow I enclose some useful info below (ii) - also see previous blogs on this topic.

There was also an update re the moves to try and get lower speeds in the Parish - a hand speed gun has already been used with a top speed recorded of 42mph on Blenhiem Pitch - that is seriously fast for that stretch! One person speeding who was stopped by the speed gun folk said: "If I don't go up at that speed I wont get up the Pitch!" Hopefully more speed testing will go-ahead soon - volunteers still being sought! The Sustainable Communities consultation was briefly discussed (more on that v soon) plus the Parish plans to update their procedures. Anyhow minutes will be out soon from the meeting so anyone interested check them out.


(i) Re Drains/Gullies

There seem to have been on-going problems at a number of road drains over recent years in the Randwick area. The levels of rainfall during the last year would seem to indicate very strongly that at several sites the drains are insufficient to cope with the water. This could be due to the lack of regular maintenance or the need to redesign them to cope with larger flows of water/debris etc?

I have had phone calls from several residents about the unsatisfactory state of these drains, although I would like to note that they were attended to very promptly after my phone call to your drains hotline.

In the light of this I would request that the following drains are reviewed to see if they can be improved. There maybe others but these are the ones identified as needing extra work so far:

1. The dip at Humphreys End was nearly a foot deep in water - the drain has now been cleared although debris/sludge etc has been piled up too close to the drain and will no doubt be washed down when we have more rain.
2. Bottom of Redhouse Lane
3. Far Westrip - opposite telephone box
4. Ash Lane
5. Two sites near Court Farm, Randwick

(ii) Street lighting

Essex County Council whom I've mentioned on this blog before are now running 2 trials, across the districts of Maldon and Uttlesford. The sreetlights have individual timers fitted that turn the lights off at local midnight (which is around 1am in summer due to BST).

So far the trials have been successful with little or no evidence of the outbreaks of crime and disorder some had predicted. Not surprising as most crime occurs duing the day and contrary to what many authorities peddle, there is no evidence that lighting per se deters crime.

The bigger issue is safety ie how many people are likely to be about after midnight who would be affected. The advantage of the Essex system is that as lights can be individually controlled, areas where it is known there will be significant numbers of people about late ie train stations, main town centres, or where there is genuine concerns over safety ie a well know accident blackspot or road junction, they can be left on. If the trial is successful it will hopefully be rolled out across Essex. Some parish councils have objected, but many have welcomed the scheme. As Essex has around 150,000 streetlights, the potential energy and cost savings are clearly huge.

There are other counties looking at doing this - Gloucestershire has a number of trials in the pipeline - if Essex is successful it is likely to be followed elsewhere. An alternative is dimming late a night , but this requires certain types of lights to be fitted in the first place. It has been used in Lancashire and there is talk of the Highways Agency using it more widely on the trunk road network - probably using sensors to detect the level of traffic and adjust the lighting levels accordingly.

Puckshole, drains, gullies, sewers and street-cleaning

Is it a drain, a sewer, or a gully? The Citizen yesterday had a useful section in their paper telling us the difference between drains, gullies and sewers...I have taken the liberty of copying it below. Meanwhile still no news re the local drains that were reported blocked? See blog entry on 14th January 2008.

Although walking around this morning - delivering more of my news leaflets - I see at least one of them has been sorted. However do please report any blockages to the County Council on the numbers given in the previous blog on this topic.

Puckshole floods

Residents of Puckshole are also seeking a meeting to see if more action can be taken to prevent the serious flooding there - yet again the Lane was under water and even today the water is gushing along the side of the road still (see photos). We will set something up but as the Ruscombe Brook Action Group have found, it never seems a priority by authorities as homes are not damaged and ownership of the culvert seems to not be clear....also the problem according to experts we've spoken to seems to be largely (but not wholly) caused by the size of the culvert...here are answers from the District Council's Drainage Officer to some questions asked about the situation...

What is the main cause of the problem? I think that the restrictive culvert under the access is the main reason for flooding rather than anything to do with the land owner.

How to sort the problem? I understand that the lane serving Acre Place is private - I made some enquiries with the County Council some time ago. It follows therefore that those who live in Acre place have a shared responsibility towards it's upkeep. I'm also aware that Cooke's culverted the brook under part of their site by using old oil drums as support for the concrete pour, therefore the size of the pipe under their site should be big enough to allow most flows to pass. The best action would be if the residents would club together to get the pipe under the highway replaced with a bigger one, I would suggest a minimum of 450 mm diameter. This should allow most minor debris items to pass and therefore remove the need for the homemade grill that holds back leaves and silt. The increased pipe may sit a bit lower and therefore help silts to be carried away, probable to the Lawns.

Has the latest Archway development made situation worse? Regarding the balancing pond at Archway school, I think this has been designed to intercept all the surface water runoff from the school and the new development next to it, so the situation should actually be better than before.

A query re street cleaning.....

- Randwick/Ruscombe are have two contracted street cleans each year plus cleans are done if requested
- Last Monday 7th someone from the Parish reported to the District Council the need for street cleaning up Ruscombe Road and Far Westrip. The contractors have confirmed this was done last Thursday 10th. However a resident writes: "I went for my walk up there on Sunday 13th and if there had been street cleaning, I found it to be totally inadequate, with the old debris in the gullies etc." She phoned the District who noted the street cleaning process involves a small vehicle with brushes and the cleaning of gulleys involves hosing them out. This is clearly an issue to be raised at tonights Parish meeting.

Is it a drain, a sewer, or a gully?

What is a drain? It is an underground pipe which carries either surface or foul water from a single property and discharges into a public or private sewer.

Who is responsible for drains? The owner (or in some cases the occupier) of a house is responsible for maintaining, repairing and cleaning his/her drain until it empties into a sewer. This means that the owner or occupier is still responsible even if it passes through somebody else's land.

What do I do if a drain is blocked? Drains are the responsibility of the owner of the property concerned (irrespective of whose land they are on).

What is a sewer? It is an underground pipe, which carries surface water or foul water from more than one property. Where two or more drains meet the pipe becomes a sewer.

Who is responsible for the maintenance of a sewer? This depends on whether it is a public or private sewer. Public sewers are maintained by the Water Authority - which in this area is Severn Trent. Private sewers are the responsibility of the owner or occupier of all properties draining into the length of pipe in question.

Who should I contact if a sewer is blocked? The clearance of public sewers is carried out by Severn Trent on 0800 7834444. For private sewers, the responsibility ultimately lies with all the owners of the properties upstream of the defect or blockage.

What is a gully? Road gullies allow water to drain away from roads and pavements. They consist of a gully grating and a gully pot underneath, and are situated at the side of the road by the kerb. Removal of rainwater from the highway is key to ensuring the safety of the road and preventing deterioration from standing water.

Who is responsible for gullies? Gloucestershire Highways is responsible for highway gullies which are drainage pits covered by an open metal grating located on the road edge. Their purpose is to drain rain water from the highway into the sewerage system.

How often are gullies emptied? The Highways Authority operates a programme to ensure that all gullies are cleared of leaves, litter, silt and debris at least once a year. In known trouble spots gullies are cleared more frequently.

Who do I contact if a gully is blocked? The county council's emergency gully clearance service can be contacted through the call centre on 08000 514514.

Who is responsible for water supply pipes? Severn Trent, who can be contacted on 0800 7834444, 24 hours a day.

Who is responsible for main rivers? The Environment Agency has powers to maintain and improve main rivers. It can construct and maintain defences against flooding, issue flood warnings, and manage water levels. Defra decides which are the main rivers. To find out who to contact at your local office call 08708 506 506.

Who is in charge of ordinary watercourses? Under the Land Drainage Act 1991, the local authority is the operating authority for ordinary watercourses where there is no Internal Drainage Board.

Slad Brook floods homes and Ebley bypass closed

Here we are again with flooding - although the rain has stopped for now, the land is heavily saturated and water levels in critical areas prone to flooding are being watched. In some areas sandbags are being issues, the A419 Ebley bypass is closedsome schools will close early. Apparently the latest Met Office reports are indicating more rain this evening, though this may pass south of Gloucestershire - take care when driving and remember to test your brakes after travelling through road water.

Photo: Slad Brook a few weeks ago

The Slad brook has flooded homes three times in seven months and it looks like they will face flooding again today. The reasons are various and as a local District councillor and Secretary of the Ruscombe Brook Action Group I was asked for a quote as to why the flooding is happening again.

Here is what I said to The Citizen: "The key reason for the floods is that debris from the culvert has still not been removed nor a grill fitted to reduce debris. This lack of maintenance is symptomatic of our failure to see watercourses as a valued resource. It is true that Climate Change is likely to play an increasing role in both flood and drought, but in addition to poor maintenance flooding events are caused by mismanagement of land. The Slad brook has been built over and there has been a proliferation of hard surfaces like drives, roads and more homes which means that less water soaks into the ground. It is good that solutions like creating ponds to hold water further up the valley are planned, but we must urgently sort these culverts out: it is unacceptable that homes are once again being flooded."

Meanwhile Cllr Sarah Lunnon has raised several issues with the District Council - on Friday evening six houses were flooded by Slad Brook when water entered their homes from the drains. Sarah and others are today watching the brook as the water level has reached the top of the entrance to the culvert on the lower end of the Slad Rd. Heavy rainfall this afternoon or evening could result in the brook yet again running into Slad Rd and then pooling outside the entrance to Park Gardens, having no way to re-enter the brook.

The Slad Brook Action Group has been in contact with the environment agency regarding removing debris from the culvest, but this has not yet proved possible due to safety issues. The EA is now considering the use of divers to clear the blockages but access remains a problem. SBAG have now called on help from SDC in requesting the EA to use its powers to installing a grating at the entrance to the Slad Rd culvert to at least halt the accumulation of debris in the culvert.

It is concerning that we do not appear to have a sustainable water management strategy - an Agenda21 requirement by 2000 for all nations and municipalities. See here.

As I noted about climate change is likely to play an increasing role in both flood and drought, however most such events are presently caused by simple mismanagement of the land.

"Too often, flood policies and programmes are based on the assumption that flood disasters result from nature's actions, not man's, whereas in actual fact the misery and damage are mostly caused by human error - especially by poor land management and myopic flood-control strategies."
Edward Goldsmith, see article here

It is fully appreciated that since the 1974 water industry reorganisation UK local authorities have suffered a progressive loss of responsibilities in these areas; this has resulted in a void in representation of our local interests. The engagement of a Drainage Officer by SDC was a very sensible step - but only valid if his recommendations in terms of planning applications and wider policy determinations are accepted by the authority.

These are interesting times - as Greens we are calling for an holistic policy of water management - the floods mean that folk are listening - and indeed some actions are very positive (see previous blogs re funding SBAG, Watercourse wardens and more) - let us hope they will also take the full range of actions that are needed.

Road Drains and Gullies flood - please report incidents

The heavy rain that fell last week led to several road drains and gullies in the ward getting blocked with rubbish, leaves and other detritus. The dip at Humphreys End was nearly a foot deep in water and Puckshole Lane was under a couple of feet of water. Other areas in Stroud faired less well - I hear today of 6 homes in Slad road that are again flooded.

Photo: Road surface damaged by heavy rains and traffic

The County Council is responsible for the cleaning and maintenance of most of the thousands of street drains and gullies in Gloucestershire. However they do not have a regular programme of maintenance in our Parishes and note that due to resources and the unpredictability of rainfall they do not plan to organise one. This means that when drains and gullies block we need to report them - and the more of us that do, I suspect, the higher up the list of jobs the problem goes.

Last week I reported five drains blocked and I know a resident and the Randwick Parish Council also reported blocked drains. We hope that we might now identify the worst drain offenders to see if the County can be persuaded to make some design improvements to them to reduce the blockages. Residents thoughts are welcomed.

How to report any problems on the highway or the roadside:

Call the 24hr automated one-call number: 08000 514 514
Or use the email form on the County website:
http://www.gloucestershire.gov.uk

Full Council meeting: flooding, car parking machines and climate change panel

Thursday I had a second session at Cardiff University talking to their MSc architect students about 'green' politics and community groups in action - it was refreshing to talk to some of the students about their enthusiasm for addressing climate change and more. Anyhow arrived back just in time to catch the green councillors pre-Council meeting before Full Council.

Photos: School of Architecture, Cardiff University and below sandwiches at pre-Council meeting

Thursday was my first day back as an ordinary councillor rather than Leader of the Green group - Sarah Lunnon takes over and will make a great job of it as I've noted elsewhere in this blog. Hopefully it will allow me a little more time - especially as I've embarked on a few hours as a Community Mental Health Worker.

Anyhow much was discussed at Council and I can't possibly do it justice here - but here are a few items...

Flooding - a great first step

The Government has given £60,000 to Stroud to help with Flood Relief - this is different from the Glos Flood Relief Fund (which has only several days left for applications re damage, insurance premiums etc - apply now!). Sadly the debate became political as sometimes these things do - and don't always seem to be handled in the most positive way.

Labour councillors rightly argued that Stroud should match the funding and that many areas were missed out from the funds which concentrated on Painswick and Slad water courses. Indeed it would be great to see more funds in this area - however while most of the opposition (ie Labour, Green and Lib Dems) supported an amendment calling for such money it was opposed by the administration - although I think one Tory abstained.

The main motion on spending the money was however passed unanimously (see 28th Oct blog for details). As noted before I think it is a very positive step forward to developing preventative measures - it is also targeted at the areas worst hit - but as pointed out in the meeting some householders elsewhere are in equally dire straights - some still living in caravans etc.

Also as noted before Greens have called for an holistic approach - that means looking at the whole picture - the extra £60,000 would have helped but it is disappointing that this wasn't discussed before the meeting - it seemed to be presented at Full Council to gain maximum media coverage. Where was the discussion beforehand? Where was the debate? This doesn't seem to me the best way to do politics. I am not surprised that the administration voted against - however hope they are still open to looking at this issue....

To me Stroud District has taken lead in this area of flooding in a way quite unlike other councils - for that they should be applauded - but we do need to develop a more comprehensive approach to all watercourses. That is what Greens will be seeking. This is a great first step but we do need much more.

We need to address the fragility of our infrastructure to cope with the shifts in weather patterns. We also need this whole area looked at by the Government - it is a mess - we have organisations such as Severn Trent (one of at least four companies responsible for the sewage network in Gloucestershire), the Environment Agency (which has regions which are not co-terminous with the political regions) and other bodies responsible for key utilities that appear to have no desire to work holistically together to improve our failing infrastructure. There is also a complex and piecemeal pattern of legislation and outdated discretionary powers that are in themselves not providing the clarity and direction necessary to help create better long term solutions.

We also have what the County Councils Chief Exec has described as "an aging Victorian drainage system that is already under heavy strain and our drains and sewers are simply not designed for the type of rainfall the UK is now and in the future will experience."

Our streams, waterways and non-main rivers were the cause of some 75% of Gloucestershire flooding, but it is unrealistic to expect riparian owners to maintain and improve flood defences. For each urban stream there could easily be up to 200 landowners.

We urgently need organisations to work together - hence with the Ruscombe Brook our attempts to bring the together with the Memo of Cooperation - now signed by pretty well all organisations and agreed unanimously at Council on Thursday night. But it shouldn't be up to a little group to have to set up this - there should be a way that this happens so that we can tackle these issues together.

Anyhow another point of contention was that the list of flooded properties was not complete - a difficult task to do anyway - approx 200 properties were hit in the Stroud area - some slightly and some very seriously.

Nationally of course the figure of flooded properties was in 1000s - and even more with the floods now on the East coast - in fact even before the summer floods nationally 5000 properties were flooded by sewers - and 3.5bn litres of water is lost through leaks per day - this all should be a warning sign - of the 29 places where the government plans more houses (new 'growth points') flooding is a risk in 80% of cases, sewer capacity are an issue in 72% and breaches in water in 62%.

Canal Regeneration - Stroud takes on £2m liability

Stroud accepting this liability is a risk to Council tax payers - a real and serious risk even though it has been described as 'nominal' - but if the Council had not worked so hard to achieve this then the whole canal project was in serious jeopardy - indeed British Waterways were set to pull out and with them most likely most of the other funding....this £60million project has it's faults and I still have very serious concerns about a number of elements - how much affordable housing will be on the site, what about biodiversity, the route itself etc - indeed I have talked of these before on this blog....in fact Martin Whiteside asked several questions at Council trying to get assurances re affordable housing.

Councils often don't take enough risks in my view - they are overly conservative and don't get many potential wins - why for example are we so cautious over the amount of renewable energy we ask of new developers, why so cautious re how much affordable housing - others are braver - there are reasons and I have touched on them before - but here at least the Council is being brave.

The liability was accepted unanimously by all at Full Council - that doesn't mean we will not be scrutinising all elements - indeed the Brimscombe Area Action Plan is now out for consultation (only 6 weeks) - look at it on the Council website here.

Climate Change Panel report

We had a report presented to us from this Panel - background and membership of the panel - The Climate Change Panel was set up by Stroud District Council during the summer of 2007. The purpose of the panel is two fold:

· To act as an independent advisory panel to the Council and Local Strategic Partnership (LSP);
· To provide non-elected member external scrutiny of Council policy and performance in relation to climate change;

The panel consists of 9 local and national experts in matters relating to climate change including matters such as energy, construction, urban and rural planning and land management. The panel also includes several representatives of the Youth Council. It is appointed for 2 years initially with a view to hold one full day annual meeting at a time where its deliberations can be most effectively fed into the councils’ annual corporate cycle. It is expected that there will be communications with and between the panel members throughout the year.

So what did they have to say - well there was lots of good stuff - the report will be on the webcast - here is what they said in their conclusion: "Stroud District Council through its Environment Strategy and its wide range of measures relating to climate change is in an excellent position to take some fundamental steps to move further towards a position where the District is carbon neutral. A number of suggestions have been made by the panel which could have a major impact on reducing the district’s CO2 emissions. In particular the cumulative impact of the planning measures proposed and the proposal for a 50% renewables target and associated installations are worth highlighting. For further CO2 reductions to succeed it is also clear that much work is still needed to encourage wider participation in the climate change agenda from residents, schools and businesses in the district. These are matters which will be included in future deliberations of the panel."

This Panel is very exciting and has great potential - again full marks to the Council on this - Martin Whiteside asked if the panel could not meet more often - no immediate answer to that but there will be a response to the various recommendations to Cabinet in January. I intend to write with a few areas that I think have not been covered sufficiently - not surprising given they only had a day - one issue was more re saving energy in existing housing stock - one idea I keep trying to push is Kirklees Councils free insulation to 40,000 homes! If they can do it so can we.....anyhow more of this issue another time....

Question time - new car parking machines

The procedure is not as simple as some people might expect - they were aimed at making it easier for parking time to be remotely extended using a mobile telephone. This has been requested by traders and others including Greens - but Greens wanted a pay on exit system - this is not the greatest way to do it - anyhow I wont repeat here the arguments - the Council have admitted problems and apologised for not giving enough support when the machines were introduced - also some free parking measures have been made on Weds up to Christmas - however while machines are back to simple operation they are set to come back again with all the print in your number plate letters stuff...

Green councillor Gwen Belcher raised a question at Council about how these machines had been chosen and the implementation planned (or rather not planned!) - another councillor asked about costs - all that is on the webcast - with the answers - certainly the introduction was a complete mess - Gwen - who walks everywhere - has described to me how she was 'harangued Face to Face with people and by phone about My Council.....approached by influential Members of Stroud Chamber of Trade' who claimed takings where done by 20% - however it was half term and takings are sometimes down anyway - nevertheless poor show.

On a lighter note Gwen was at the same time rattling tins for C.A.B and did very well as she had queues of people wanting to talk to her about the car parking saga and they couldn't possible walk away with out giving!

Other issues

Cllr Marjoram had a question re Huntsgrove asking why it had been 'called in' - still no reason given either by Government or David Drew - so officers have to plan for every eventuality - like going to court and not knowing what you have been charged with - and of course this all costs the Council money - taxpayers money.

Gypsies, Treasury Management and the new statement of community involvement- all discussed before on this blog.

Call for SUDs in Stroud

Stroud District Council Cabinet meeting on 29th October has been put aside especially to look at flooding issues. I am hoping that we can also soon have a Policy Panel to look at Sustainable Urban Drainage Systems. I have been pushing for this for a while and have now summarised below some of the reasons why I think it is important. I am hoping this will prompt a date from the Council.

Photo: Not the SUDs we are referring to in this blog entry!

As regular blog readers may remember I have also met in the past with Bob Bray, a well-known specialist in SUDs who lives locally - he has carried out training in SUDs with planners in Bristol and other Councils who by all accounts found it very helpful. I am hoping that SDC will consider similar training or help with the Policy Panel I am proposing - particularly to hear about other SUDs schemes and the issues around adoption.

Anyhow here's what I wrote - plus some good notes from Bob Bray as to why SUDs schemes are not being developed...

Proposal for the further development of SUDs in Stroud District

1. Reasons for a Panel Policy include;

1.1. SUDs will have an increasingly important part to play in future water management. The recent floods highlighted the need to develop SUDs systems: where they existed water was managed better.
1.2. Implications of the 'new' PPS25 Planning Policy Statement.
1.3. Our Local Plan contains a SUDs requirement but this has not always translated into SUDs schemes. The Planning department has seen significant improvements in this area over recent months particularly on larger developments. It would be good to build on this and develop a more comprehensive policy for our LDF in particular highlighting the need for guidance before Detailed Planning permissions are submitted. I note that Gloucester City have developed Supplementary Planning Guidance in this area (ii).
1.4. Issues regarding adoption and section 106 need resolving - see point 2.4 below.
1.5. Need to tackle widespread ignorance about SUDs (particularly amongst some developers) - see point 2.3 below and appendix one.
1.6. Consider developing a plan of action for the District. This could include establishing a Working party with potential representation including Severn Trent Water, Environment Agency, Drainage Team, Highways, University and Planning, Environment and Regeneration departments. The role of this working party would be to provide a focus for the wider debate and research on the area’s drainage its work could include:
- Policy development
- Drafting of supplementary planning guidance and design codes
- Catchment analysis to explore amongst other things regional (multi development site) controls for flood waters etc.
- Training tailored to staff requirements plus management of SUDs schemes.
- Above all the action will be about getting more schemes on the ground, reducing people’s concerns, establishing tried and tested management and best practice and building experience.
- There may be future opportunities to advise other Local Authorities as we build capacity as leaders in SUDS.

2. Background info re SUDs taken from recent submission to flooding inquiry (i):

2.1. What are SUDs? The SUDs philosophy is an integrated approach to managing water on site by minimising run off, attenuating discharge rates, detaining water for passive treatment, improving water quality and creating amenity space for people and wildlife. The overriding concept of SUDS is that drainage design for development sites should mimic, wherever possible, the existing drainage characteristics of the area and seek to minimise the effects of development on the hydrology of the site and the surrounding environment: water will be dealt with as close to where it falls as possible (iii). SUDS can be achieved by utilising a series of porous hard surfaces, swales (broad open ditches), ponds and wetlands. These all ensure that water seeps slowly away in to ground water (as would happen naturally pre-development) or is discharged to the drainage system at a low controlled rate.

2.2. Advantages of SUDs. SUDs systems offer solutions that are often at a lower cost and lower maintenance costs to traditional systems and are more sustainable than convention methods because they:

- reduce runoff flow rates which reduces the resulting pollution from run-off
- reduce flooding and subsequent damage to water courses and more
- protect or enhance water quality
- improve habitat for wildlife
- provide a public/functional space (good examples in Sheffield and Lewisham where SUDs have been integrated into local parks) or for willow, biofuel or aquaculture
- reduce depletion of ground water flow which in turn impacts upon water resources

2.3. Ignorance and resistance. Take up in England and Wales is very poor indeed even with support from Government through PPG25 and other policy documents, and from the Environment Agency (iii). Forward thinking councils like Gloucester City are attempting to develope ways to encourage more SUDs schemes. However they and indeed most Councils, even where they have SUDs policies as part of their planning process, are not seeing SUDs schemes delivered. Ignorance and resistance within the construction industry means that drainage proposals that have been called SUDs schemes have not always delivered easily maintained, visually attractive and functional solutions. Similarly even where Local Plans have called for culverts to be opened up this has not occurred despite new developments. It is critical that greater guidance and support is provided before a Detail Planning Submission is made.

2.4. Adoption problems. One key excuse that developers use to not submit a SUDS scheme is 'adoption'. However if structures are designed correctly in the first place then maintenance costs should not be prohibitive and structures can be adopted as long as appropriate commuted sum payments are made. In traditional systems pipes are adopted by Severn Trent, for which they are allowed to charge through the water rate: typically 10 – 15% of a water bill will be for this service. If the pipe discharges into a balancing pond then it is the local authority, who, with a commuted sum will take on the maintenance of this area in a similar way to public open space. Currently Severn Trent are obliged to adopt pipes typically used in traditional systems, but refuse to adopt many of the features associated with SUDs such as swales, filter strips or French drains even though they convey water from one place to another. It is not clear why this is the case, however, it has been suggested that the current system suits them well and there is no commercial benefit to change it. Local authorities have also been reluctant to take them on board as they are unfamiliar with them, and they have no long term revenue stream to pay for their maintenance even though SUDs usually have lower maintenance costs than traditional systems.

2.5. Lack of urgency worrying. The Interim report on SUDS was published in July 2004 and there is not even an estimated date for the final report. Furthermore that Interim report did not go far enough in making use of the advantages of SUDS. Apparently a group led by the Environment Agency, including representatives of major stakeholders, is considering both the technical standards and legal issues required to underpin the future adoption of SUDS. Again this appears to lack any sense of urgency.

2.6. National guidance needed. We urgently need clearer guidance and a stronger lead from bodies like the Environment Agency. A move to adopt a mandatory and comprehensive national SUDs policy in all new developments like in Ireland and Scotland would be a significant step towards managing our water better, but in the meantime individual Councils can considerably improve their current provision of SUDs through LDFs and more.

3. Notes:
(i) See full report here (ii) Copies of their policy documents in WORD can be sent on request. (iii) See below.

Appendix One: Moving forward with SUDS

In order to move forward with the uptake of SUDS techniques we need to understand the issues and attitudes of those involved in all aspects of development. Typical reasons (and excuses) behind the lack of uptake in the use of SUDS:

Cultural shift in how we manage surface run-off. Our present day system is based on 150 years of conventional practice and in effect is about putting water into pipes.

Lack of knowledge in what SUDS are and what constitutes good design from within authorities

Managing body – most SUDS will not be adopted by ‘The water company’ therefore it falls to another body to pick up the responsibility, for example a management company or local authority.

Management resources – It is rarely possible to acquire the surface water drainage proportion of the water bill for managing SUDS therefore other financing methods are explored such as Section 106 agreements and management companies.

Land take –landowners and developers can be concerned that there will be loss of land to SUDS features reducing capital receipts or profit from development. (will not fit with PPG 3 High density developments). With good design and early consideration SUDS can form part of the incidental landscape to a development. Volume storage which is the main issue in land take can be partly achieved through under-paving storage. Regional (multi-development) volume storage could form part of a wider public amenity, for example lakes and wetlands and level grass spaces.

Siltation – People get concerned about silt levels. Experience with older systems shows that with the right design silt is minimal in quantity.

Site too steep- not a problem infact a creative opportunity. There are examples in the UK.

SUDS are too expensive – There are costed examples already available within this country and practice abroad suggests SUDS are always cheaper. However, without actually designing an alternative scheme it can be difficult to challenge consultants and developers on this issue. The capital outlay for SUDS is considered to be less because its nature is less engineered. Each scheme would have to be considered separately.

Site too flat – water can be moved at very slight gradients as the need for cleansing as in steeper piped systems is not required.

People will not accept the look of SUDS within their local environment. If systems are well designed and managed SUDS should be an attribute to communities. All evidence in Scotland, where SUDS are commonly practiced, indicate that SUDS are accepted by communities and are infact a positive contribution to the environment.

SUDS are new and an additional burden (cannot be hassled) – with the right support and the spread of knowledge and experience to individuals through training etc this can be addressed. SUDS are likely to become mandatory therefore the longer the lead in time for an authority the better.

You need a water course to drain to –Whilst this can be an advantage water in some situations can be infiltrated or put into the surface water sewer in a cleaner and controlled state.

Safety of children – schemes can be designed to make access in and around them safe for example level grass benches to the sides of shallow ponds. Regular open water is not necessarily a common feature of SUDS. It is not economical to put large storm volumes underground therefore there is the occasional need for the use of the above ground environment for storage.

Lack of skills to manage – All the features within SUDS are common within society already. Most SUDS elements would be managed as part of a landscape such as mowing verges, removing litter, strimming or flailing shallow channels, cleaning permeable paving.

Conventional drainage for the large part does a good job - why try something else? SUDS can deliver massive water quality improvements as well as amenity benefits, they are a reminder of everyone’s connection to nature and their own responsibility. With the right planning they can deliver significant volume management above and beyond the conventional 1 in 30 storm period for piped systems. Recent events illustrate that conventional systems do fail either through exceedence or through blockage. 60% of reported flooding is due to conventional drainage failing.

SUDS are too loose and unpredictable they cannot be modelled precisely enough. SUDS are designed to the same standards as conventional systems for example return periods and storage. Much can be modelled, however the water’s behaviour is more difficult to model than conventional pipes. Infiltration is difficult to predict and vegetation can slow flows more than expected. However both these aspects can add extra capacity into a system. With the right design SUDS can be very robust effective systems requiring minimal input.

People can misconnect to SUDS – this can be done for example a resident building an extension and misconnecting a toilet to a surface water drain. Presently in conventional systems this would be difficult to detect. Although finding a culprit for a misconnection can be difficult the need for more societal responsibility for our surface water is needed. Within the some projects it is hoped the promotion of the SUDS and its possible use in for example supplying a fishing lake will deliver responsible behaviour. A well designed SUDS with source control lacks the use of extensive pipework therefore there is no opportunity to misconnect to a sewer. If someone does it is more obvious.

People can abuse SUDS – this can be addressed by good design and management, regular checking of inlets and outlets as part of a landscape management. Good design should involve the reduction of vulnerable engineered solutions.

It restricts design and does not fit in with the aesthetic of development – The built character of SUDS can vary with the use of different techniques providing opportunity for integration into development in a variety of ways.

What if it fails – good design and increasing experience from all professionals will deliver good schemes. The simplicity of the designs will deliver robust systems. Conventional systems fail more catastrophically whereas SUDS fail slowly or sequentially.

We don’t need to improve water quality – European Legislation will bring in the need to address diffuse pollution.

Long –term doubts about management, pipes are some much more understood. This is where there is a cultural need to understand how we can manage our surface water differently. The more schemes the more normal it will become along with its required management. Pipes are more understood but if they fail they can only deteriorate unless there is heavy investment. Greener natural systems are more robust. What is needed is knowledge transfer between professions so this new approach can be adopted.