Anger over '˜dangerous' flooding drains at Chelsea Green

Alan Bates, 51, claims he speaks on behalf of many disgruntled residents living on Chelsea Green, Linslade, fed up by what is believed to be a blockage in two drains near the junction joining their street to Southcott Village road.

After notifying Central Beds Council about the problem in March, Alan claims a tanker was sent to unblock the drains, only for flooding to resume again in May.

The frustrated resident argues that he has contacted the council for months but to no avail, and now fears for the Christmas season, the flooding posing a ‘serious ice risk’.

He said: “On Tuesday (November 29) there was a bus negotiating a corner and I saw its wheels spinning! It’s like a skating rink. The water is constantly running. The cars keep splashing through the water, and the puddles this leaves turn into ice. Grit isn’t enough to stop it, as the flowing water washes the salt away.

“There must be about 80 properties around here, plus buses – that’s about three hundred journeys per day.

Alan claims that he knows at least 14 other residents who have spoken to the council and thinks the blockage could be caused by spring water coming from farmland at the back of their houses. He says that Anglian Water previously tested flood water samples to prove that the problem did not lie with them – the water was untreated, remaining a matter for Central Beds Council.

Alan said: “I suspect it is flowing from the land and somehow breaking into a sealed system – otherwise the storm drains would take care of the spring water. The blockage is probably because sediment has washed in with the springwater.”

An Anglian Water spokesperson said: “Anglian Water is only responsible for part of the drainage network. Originally, the flooding problem was reported to us as a suspected water leak.”

The spokesman said a chlorine test was performed which established the leak was not from a drinking water main and investigations would need to look at drainage and natural water sources.

A Central Bedfordshire Council spokesman said: “We first visited the drain with a gully motor to do a basic clean and jet but persisted to have an issue. We then visited for a second time for a deeper clean and investigation to find where the blockage was and after doing this we do not believe it is a spring affecting the system.

“We have now visited the site with a CCTV unit to determine the extent of the blockage and more accurate location. Again, we do not believe a spring is affecting the system.

“The next step is to trail a hole to find what we believe is the main carrier piper and where the potential blockage is.”