Solution wanted for Lavant flooding problems

The Memorial Hall car park in Lavant regularly suffers problems from water coming out of drains in Pook Lane and spilling out onto the car park.

Back in 2009 there was concern that the car park surface was being damaged with the prospect of costly repairs having to be made.

At its meeting held Lavant Parish Council heard from hall caretaker Tony Bleach who met with the county council’s highways officers towards the end of last year to discuss the issue.

Mr Bleach said some of the problems were caused by gulleys which filled up easily and which were not cleared often enough.

He told parish councillors that during his meeting he told highways officials the gulleys needed clearing more than once a year. He said the county council had promised to take action but no work had been carried out and that the county council did not have the funds to pay for the work.

“They said we can do it, we’d give you permission to do it if you like but you’d have to pay for it, which is not what we were looking for,” said Mr Bleach.

At last week’s meeting he appealed to the parish council for the village to take the matter into its own hands to resolve the situation once and for all.

“I have absolutely no confidence that the county council is going to do anything at all.

“I would like to go to get the parish council’s permission to go ahead with getting three quotes for whatever facility it takes as a final solution.

“This does mean that we will be managing some of the county council’s water which the sub-committee was dead against from the very start, but if they are not going to pay for it what are we going to do?

“I feel we go on month after month doing little bits, but it’s time we hit the nail on the head.

“Getting the quotes will be the start of the start of a final procedure.”

The parish council agreed that more details were needed about the exact nature of the work which needed to be carried out.

At the meeting the council also greed to write to the county council’s highways department to ask for the problems to be addressed.

For more details about Lavant Parish Council see www.lavantpc.org.uk