Stockport Liberal Democrats are calling for a full investigation into the unprecedented flooding in Bramhall, Hazel Grove and Offerton over the weekend, and say questions need to be answered.
“We would like to thank the emergency services, council officers and residents who rallied round and made sure people were kept safe during the flood,” said Stockport Lib Dem leader Cllr Iain Roberts.
“But there are three important questions that must now be answered.
“First, there was a lot of rainfall in a short period of time, but not a record amount. Why did houses flood that have never flooded before? Why did houses flood where the Environment Agency has said the risk was less than once every hundred years? Why did houses flood where there are flood defences in place and where improved drainage systems have only recently been installed? Had local drains and sluices been maintained according to the council’s specifications?
“Second, once the water started rising, was everything possible done to protect people and property? For example, we have heard reports that the council did not act quickly enough to close Hazelwood Road, putting houses there at risk of water overflowing their front steps due to large vehicles driving past, and that the council’s emergency number was not answered and then went offline. We are concerned not enough happened shortly following the issue of the Environment Agency alert early on Friday evening.
“And third, what needs to be done to stop this happening again? What lessons can be learned from this event to reduce the impact of any future flood events.
“We will ask the council for a detailed report on all of this to come to the next Environment and Economy Scrutiny Committee on 7th July.”
Cllr Laura Booth was one of the victims of the flood at her home in Offerton, despite being in an area the Environment Agency says is protected by flood defences.
Cllr Booth said: “I was very fortunate to only be lightly affected but this experience has given me a sense of the huge impact flooding has had on hundreds of my neighbours. They are now trying to pick up the pieces and contacting their insurance companies. It is essential that we find out the cause of these floods so we can stop the same thing happening again”.
