Reader's Photo: Flood water being pumped from A34 into Whitehall Brook after Storm Barra

Coming south this evening round the roundabout to suddenly be confronted with a closed road no prior warning ridiculous and likely to result in an accident
How much longer do we have to put up with A34 and A555 flooding, the incompetence of the local councils is truly astonishing

It would be comforting for some of our elected officials to come on this site and tell us what changes they have already made to deal with the "new normal" climate wise. The silence is deafening. Clearly we are in a mess and so it would be good to know what the next steps are for dealing with the constant flooding in and around Wilmslow. We can't carry on "as is" with road closures several times a year and gridlocked roads. I would like to think (or at least hope) that the impact of climate change is being discussed, almost constantly, at all levels of government, but I don't feel like we have much (any?) environmental governance at all. 2 tractors with a pump each appears to be woefully inadequate for problem road like this. We need a step change in thinking/planning. I would also like to know whether the people who built the clearly sub-standard roads around here are being held to account for their constant failures to keep people moving. The companies who profited from the contracts to build these roads (and their constantly failing pump mechanisms), all funded by our taxes, need to come back and sort them out. If anyone is brave enough to share their thoughts then please refrain from phrases like "unprecedented rainfall" and "once in a lifetime storm".

I commented on the other site to say that my wife has lived in the area all her life since 1931. The recent rain is not unprecedented. The Council would have us believe it is Climate change caused by us and could say that it us impossible to keep on top of it. Those pumps were not inspected OR maintained, that is the real story here. Rivers were once dredged and waterways inspected regularly. This is not the case now. The reason 2 years ago the dam at Whaley Bridge nearly burst was also attributed to years of neglect and hubris. Watercourses are not respected by rapacious developers and too much tarmacing over former fields contribute to all this. Our highways team do not inspect resurfacing operations carried out by non local gangs subcontracted by Ringway Jacobs. I reported a fair few roadside drains and gullies actually tarmacked last year compound this with developers alliwong silt and cement run off into roadside gullies and we end up in a mess

The flooding on the A34 was caused by pump failure, which stopped it emptying the large rainwater storage tanks into Whitehall Brook. The pump was inspected and serviced regularly but was installed in 1996 and is now irreparable. Therefore, temporary pumps are being installed to allow the A34 to re-open tomorrow (Tuesday), weather permitting.

These temporary pumps are being secured in a container, so a north bound lane will be closed to safely locate it. Unfortunately, there is no timescale yet for when the new pump will be installed and the container removed but it is a priority.

It is now abundantly clear that Whitehall Brook cannot cope with the increasing volumes of water being pumped into it. With flooding now effecting the A34 as well as Alderley Road, it is easier to justify the high cost of fixing the root cause ie widening the culvert under Alderley Road and dredging Whitehall Brook.

The Highways Flood team have been tasked to find a solution and report to the councils Highways & Transport Committee, chaired by Cllr Craig Browne of Alderley Edge, Deputy Leader of the Council.

Therefore, this may finally be the tipping point that means we get a permanent solution to the ongoing flooding of Alderley Road.


Cllr Mark Goldsmith
Residents of Wilmslow
Wilmslow West & Chorley

But what was going on in January when the last serious flooding occurred and Alderley Road was closed at least partially for 2 weeks while "works" were undertaken?

@ Mr Tasker...
I think you were referring to a 'once in a lifetime event'...
or was it 'this particular once in a lifetime event,
or the several other once in a lifetime events in-between..??

As per previous threads on this site, the public deserve better
for their taxes.. Forward planning and maintenance dont appear to be
a CEC priority... maybe that will change, but until then
I suspect Pendleton Lake will be here for quite a while longer ..

@ Mr Jones...

Ah yes, in civil engineering terms, "lifetimes" are so short we don't even get out of nappies.

I know a friend that can do it cheaper…