Barnsley Council to spend £500k to ensure roadside gullies are kept clear as it launches flooding review

It is widely accepted that Barnsley’s improved flood defences – introduced following the deluge of 2007 – were successful in minimising the damage caused, even though the River Dearne was recorded at its highest ever level in the Cundy Cross area of town.

But Barnsley Council is looking for ways to improve the situation further, a reaction to the fact that some homes – particularly in the Low Valley and Burton Grange areas – were flooded.

As a result, a review will look to identify ‘lessons learned’ and pinpoint what can be done to minimise the possibility of future problems, as forecasts of more extreme weather and increased rainfall are made and blamed on climate change.

Barnsley Council’s scrutiny board, a body made of councillors who examine the authority’s performance, heard details of how council staff had worked with residents and other agencies during the floods and afterwards, to try to prevent problems and to help those who were affected.

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Key areas which will be looked at are Aldham House Bridge, Wombwell, a known trouble spot for road flooding, where councillors have been told staff will look for new solutions to the problem.

Coun Trevor Smith was critical of the measures taken to protect residents in Darfield, an area which he said “floods every ten years”.

He blamed the failure to keep a dyke, which should have carried water away, clear of debris for the problem though the meeting heard there had also been a collapse on part of the banking of the River Dove in the area.

Coun Chris Lamb, a member of the council’s ruling Cabinet with responsibilities for issue, told councillors another £1m would become available in the Spring for work to improve the infrastructure, with half of that to be allocated to repairing gullies and ensuring they were frequently cleaned.