Howard Woollaston: Parish Matters – December/January 2024

Howard Woollaston
West Berkshire Councillor: Lambourn Ward

I don’t usually write a Parish Matters for this month as we have all been too busy with Christmas and the lead up to it that usually there is little to talk about.However, the exceptional weather and the resultant flooding and sewage issues prompted me to make an exception. Could I first wish you all a Happy and healthy New Year.

Sewage and flood risks

After numerous calls and emails from residents expressing concerns and the automated flood warning alert from the Met Office, I decided to drive up the Valley to see with my own eyes what the current situation is. The river is extremely high and is bursting its banks in places particularly in Back Street Eastbury. Manholes have blown off their seatings in both Eastbury as you come in from East Garston and by the Fire Station in Lambourn in both cases allowing raw sewage to poor into the river and leaving the roads strewn with wastepaper and other detritus.

There are two pieces of good news. The Eastbury Flood Alleviation Scheme is clearly working as designed with a lake of water being held by the bunds allowing a reduced flow of water going into the river downstream which has probably saved large parts of the village from flooding, and I am told that that has caused lower water levels in East Garston. Secondly the rain has stopped,the forecast is dry for next week and the river level is already marginally down.

Thames Water vans and tankers seem to be all over the place, so they are clearly taking it seriously.

I then drove up Oxford Road and on to Wantage Road as a resident had expressed concern at the ditches. I can see why. The grips (access channels that allow water from the road into the ditches) in some places are having the opposite effect with water streaming from overfull ditches onto the road. In just over a mile, I drove through 3 separate floods right across the road, some quite deep and saw several other large puddles to the sides of the road.

I am making representations to the Highways Team at the Council to clear as many ditches as possible along with checking and clearing any blocked drains but as you can imagine the team is fully stretched. It is not just the Lambourn that is causing a problem but also the Pang and Kennet and other smaller streams, so this is not going to be a quick fix.

Casework

One major recent success, the abandoned car in Oxford Street has finally been removed. I would like to say by the Police or Council Enforcement but actually by using connections to apply pressure! Otherwise, as you might expect, it has been relatively quiet until the rain.

Returning to water – which dominates everything at the moment – I am told that parts of the country have had the normal full amount of rain for January already since the New Year and I am only glad that we live in such a wonderful part of the UK when you see news footage of parts of Gloucestershire, Worcestershire, Nottinghamshire and elsewhere, where there has been massive flooding – I suppose that it puts our problems into perspective.

Get in touch

This is a much shorter Parish Matters than usual, but my normal length will return next month. Hoping that you all stay safe and dry.

Whatever is concerning you please do get in touch on 07836 718 100 or howard.woollaston1@westberks.gov.uk

My thanks as ever to Brian Quinn of Penny Post for bringing his journalistic expertise to my ramblings.