Apparently, it’s the end of the Flood Awareness Week so this post feels timely.
Flood mitigation has been a key priority of mine as I have previously blogged about.
I was pleased to welcome Croydon Council’s Director of Sustainable Communities, Karen Agbabiaka and its new Head of Highways, Brian Fitzpatrick to Purley earlier this month along with Rob Varney, TfL’s Local Communities & Partnerships Specialist to cover progress made to date locally and what needs to be done on Foxley Lane and the surrounding area.
As part of this visit, we were joined by Simon and Catherine from the Purley Business Improvement District (Purley BID) and Mary Coughlan, owner of Lucinda’s, the popular ladies’ fashion shop on Russell Hill Road whose shop is badly affected by severe flooding. Mary was recently featured in the local news here and I’ve been supporting Mary on this matter.
The visit was useful and I’m hopeful we are moving in the right direction. In terms of updates/actions to be completed:
- Trial holes have now been completed, and TfL are looking at installing side entry weirs to seven gullies.
- TfL have committed to lowering the raised grass verge outside Purley Library to allow stormwater to flow into the verge more easily and soak into it.
- A new knee rail fence will be installed to deter driving and parking on the verge into ‘mud patches’ which get transported into the drainage system when it rains and causes blockages.
- The installation of gully sensors (I had expressed disappointment that this was not completed last year and am pushing for this to take place as soon as possible).
TfL have assured me that these actions are a priority, and they are liaising with Conway to get these works completed as soon as possible.
At the same time, TfL and the Council have been undertaking a CCTV investigation to the whole drainage system. This continues but there are more cleans to the drainage system to reduce the risks of settled deposits building up and defects are and will be repaired. Footway covers and gully gratings are also being replaced.
I have also been given a commitment to the following works within this financial year:
- Excavation and pipe section replacement
- Excavation and exposure of buried manhole chamber
- Robotic cut and removal of concrete from pipe
- Further patch repairs to cover cracks and holes
- Further follow on CCTV investigations
Council officers have already increased cleaning in this area, having added Foxley Lane and the surrounding area to the Council’s flood alleviation programme. I have also asked the Council to push on finding s106 funding for flood mitigation efforts.
I am grateful to Karen, Brian and Robert for their willingness to engage with Mary, the Purley BID and I on these issues. Progress has been made but we still have lots more to do as the above explains. I look forward to providing another update soon.
Cllr Samir Dwesar
