Concerns have been raised about recent flooding in Caldy.
The Caldy Society is to write to Wirral Council “demanding a comprehensive plan detailing how they intend to tackle the ongoing issue of blocked gullies” after residents on Croft Drive East woke up to what the organisation described as “severe flooding” on New Year’s Day.
In a statement on their website, the community group said: “In an area with one of the highest council tax rates, residents should not have to endure such issues. Wirral Council is responsible for maintaining road gullies to prevent flooding, but the ongoing problem of blocked gullies has been raised repeatedly by The Caldy Society.
“Despite numerous warnings to the council and local councillors, no effective action has been taken to address this issue, making this flooding an inevitable consequence.”
The Caldy Society believes there is a “lack of adequate maintenance” which “require immediate action to prevent further disruption to residents”.
However, this is disputed by Wirral Council, which says its records show that the gullies were cleaned at the end of October and in early December.
One of the gullies on Croft Drive East
A spokesperson told West Kirby Today that they were made aware of the flooding at around 11am on New Year’s Day and an emergency team attended the scene at 1pm, at which point the road was closed. It then reopened at 8.30pm when flooding eased. They said United Utilities have been “alerted to this issue to review their systems in the area”.
They added: “It is not uncommon that as the flooding drains away through the drainage system, leaves and detritus can get washed over the gully grate and form a plug over the gully grating. Cleansing operations, including sweeping and gully cleansing, are therefore continuing across Wirral following this most recent period of rainfall. Areas are being prioritised based on traffic flow and severity.
“As is normal practice, we aim to clean all gullies as part of our scheduled programme, this particular area was cleansed at the end of October 2024 and again this section of Croft Drive East was cleansed on the 3rd December 2024. Additional staff have been deployed to assist with the removal of the autumnal leaf fall. They also provide targeted removal of leaves outside of these schedules, prioritising hot spot and flood risk areas where trees are predominantly a factor.
“Residents can report issues with grids and gullies via the council website at: https://www.wirral.gov.uk/parking-roads-and-travel/roads-and-pavements/grids-and-drains.”
Photo credits: The Caldy Society
