Highways asked to examine what can be done about flooding on Stratford’s Birmingham Road
DURING last week’s flooding the Birmingham Road in Stratford was again knee-deep in water as the worst weather took hold.
While it is understandable that flood plains and roads near waterways were inevitably affected by Storm Henke last Tuesday (2nd January), many residents, motorists and pedestrians were frustrated that the Stratford main route was yet again badly flooded – particularly near to the Maybird Centre – due to ineffective drainage.
It’s an issue that Warwickshire county councillor Tim Sinclair (Con, Stratford North), who has been involved in the overhaul of Birmingham Road, is keen to address.
He told the Herald: “The floods there are not a new problem, unfortunately. But as one of our main arteries, busy as we know at the best of times, any delays caused by flooding can cause major inconvenience for people.
“The Warwick Road, as the other main approach from the north, can also flood so that exacerbates the situation. Fortunately, once the rain stopped the water receded fairly quickly.”
The county council shares the responsibility of keeping the roads flood-free with Severn Trent, which is responsible for taking the water to its outfall through their sewer network. And Cllr Sinclair confirmed that council officers were working with the Environment Agency and Severn Trent Water to ensure they were also aware of this issues.
Cllr Sinclair also said he had been liaising with the flood management team to better understand what had happened. Despite drains overflowing, he confirmed inspection officers found they didn’t appear blocked.
He continued: “I am discussing matters with the Birmingham Road project team to see what if any opportunities for improvements within that scheme of works there are to improve matters.
“Fundamentally if there’s more rainwater being fed into the system in a short space of time than it can cope with, even when it is working properly, problems like the ones we’ve see are likely to occur. We obviously need to do whatever we possibly can to deal with the issue though as it’s not just travel issues residents face, but people’s homes, those living adjacent to the Birmingham Road which are at stake.”
The county council is carrying out a three-phased programme of works on the Birmingham Road, as previously reported in the Herald. So far it has created a segregated cycle and footpath and completed resurfacing work from Arden Street to Windsor Street.
The remaining two phases of work are to do with improving traffic flow as well as providing new active travel facilities (walking and cycling). The timings for Phase 2 (A46 roundabout to The Avenue) are currently being decided but the council has said it hoped to start work “as early as possible in 2024, around other planned works in the town.” Phase 3 (Arden Street to The Avenue, including the roads around Maybird/Tesco’s) will follow, and designs are currently being worked on.
