“There’s no compensation and no apologies”: Businesses mop up after flooding in Dunstable
Businesses in Dunstable were hit with floods this week after the first significant rainfall of the year.
Shop owners were forced to mop up water from their premises on Wednesday as the rain came down in the town.
Despite a dry summer and the driest spring since 1893, the drains on High Street South were overflowing.
Cllr Louise O’Riordan shared a video of a resident putting his hand down one drain to remove debris.
Nadine O’Hara, former owner of R&R Hair Services, recently moved out of her premises along the road.
She said: “The salon has been flooded so many times. We said that we wouldn’t go through another winter there.”
When she visited the salon this week, there were pools of water on the floor. She said: “Some of the reasons I left were because it was just rotten. There’s no compensation, there’s no apologies.”
Nadine criticised Central Bedfordshire Council: “They’re now saying that it’s up to the people that work in the businesses to make sure the drains are clear. No, it’s the council’s job.”
Cllr Baker, executive member for highways, claimed the council cleaned the gullies in High Street North, High Street South and the town centre which were “all working properly just a few weeks ago in July”.
He said: “The road gullies connect to the main Anglian Water sewer; if that is full, the roadside gullies stop draining until there is capacity further down the system. It appears this is what is happening - it's not that the drains are blocked, but the system cannot cope with the volume of water.
“We will support Anglian Water with their investigations to understand if it is at all possible to increase the capacity of the entire drainage system so that it can better cope with the heavy downpours.
“Whilst this is of no comfort to those residents and businesses whose properties have been flooded, it is not a simple solution.
“We will continue to work closely with Dunstable councillors, Anglian Water, and most importantly our residents, on how best to reduce the impact of extreme weather on Dunstable.”
An Anglian Water spokesperson said that the flooding happened “due to the exceptionally high volume of rainfall across Bedfordshire”.
They explained: “When our network reaches capacity, the road gullies are unable to drain the water from the roads.
“The surface water sewers along High Street North and South have been inspected and cleaned within the past 12 months. Flooding is often a complex issue with many different owners for the drainage network such as Highways, local councils and private owners. We’re currently working with multi-agency groups (MAGs) across our region in areas that are vulnerable to flooding on a range of mitigation measures, which you can read more about on the website.”
The Saracen’s Head had been preparing to reopen this weekend after a £50,000 revamp, but that was also badly affected.
Cllr O’Riordan, who helped with the clean-up efforts, said: “We’ll see what happens but I’m determined that CBC will hear all of us - especially businesses - and finally produce a clear strategy for OUR town.
“They need to be held accountable. Someone needs to help the businesses and the vitality of our town - our independent businesses need support.”