‘Storm drain issues’ on Woolbrook Road have been getting worse…
.
During much of today, BBC Radio Devon has been warning of flooding down Woolbrook Road:
High tide and stormy weather floods SW coastal towns | bbc.co.uk
Plus weather warnings from East Devon’s MP today:
.
And more from the local media – with lots of startling photos – some of which have made their way into national coverage:
Highways chiefs said this afternoon that Woolbrook Road in Sidmouth was shut due to ‘storm drain issues’.
Treacherous travel conditions across Devon due to storm Dennis | sidmouthherald..co.uk
This has been the pattern for some time now:
December 2019: Torrential rain causing flooding on East Devon roads | exmouthjournal.co.uk
November 2016: Torrential rain wreaks havoc on Sidmouth’s roads | eastdevon24.co.uk
June 2012: Freak rainfall causes flash flooding in Woolbrook | sidmouthherald.co.uk
It can get pretty bad, as this photo from 2012 shows:
The brook is normally 2 foot lower behind the fence on the right.
Has development made this worse?
Discussion at Sidmouth Town Council’s planning committee included the issue of potential flooding:
Concern was expressed regarding run off of water. A tanked storage system and attenuation pond would ensure that flood risk is not increased (From the Planning Committee minutes, 16 December 2009)
There’s going to be more wet and rain and flooding in the coming years – the question being whether Sidmouth is prepared…
Looking at the STC website, the answer is not very clear:
There is the Devon Community Resilience Forum which has a 9-step guide on how to create a Community Emergency Plan:
DEVON COMMUNITY RESILIENCE FORUM | devoncommunities.org.uk
But looking at the map: most places in Devon don’t have their own plan anyway:
EMERGENCY PLANS IN DEVON | devoncommunities.org.uk
We did have the “Flood Resilience Community Pathfinder project, a two year project funded by Defra” some five or more years ago
– which didn’t seem to go anywhere:
Council plan to reduce flood risk to properties theexeterdaily.co.uk
Devon Local Flood Risk Management Strategy Update | devon.gov.uk
With a long discussion thread from the time:
Futures Forum: Streetlife debates the election issues for Sidmouth: part 2
There have been some small-scale flooding defences since:
Knowle relocation project: flooding attenuation
Sidmouth homes to be protected from flooding
But is this really adequate?
Flooding and development in East Devon
Climate change and flooding: the impact on the Devon coast
There are some very good ideas out there, though:
Resilient responses to reverse the effects of urban flooding