Gully cleaning cash confirmed for Staffs

Staffordshire County Council has confirmed a £300,000 investment package to clean up road gullies across the region.

After one of the wettest summers and soggiest Septembers on record, the money will help unblock and survey gullies to make sure they are fit for purpose for the winter.

Staffordshire County Council’s Highways Chief, Mike Maryon, said spending money on “hotspots” now would make the highways drainage network more robust for winter – and ultimately save money in the long run too.

Maryon said: “The torrential downpours over the summer, and again this week, have swamped the county at times and left many of our 160,000 plus gullies overloaded with the enormous run off from fields, overflowing water courses and localised downpours.

“Heavy rain also washes silt and debris off the highways choking the drainage network even further.

“While we can’t control the weather, by acting and investing now, we can make sure the network is as robust as possible and minimise the impact of severe weather as we head towards winter.

“Over the coming weeks we will be taking a co-ordinated approach to target the areas which will bring the most benefit, prioritise particularly problematic drainage spots and plan jobs effectively to get the  best results in terms of time and investment.”

The “hotspot” roads are generally on major routes, minor roads within identified flooding areas and gullies locally identified as problematic.

By doing this now it will also help the council’s maintenance programme for next year by minimising the lying water and its impact on the highways.