The owner of Meaford Day Nursery has called for urgent action to be taken to prevent floodwaters at Meaford after the A34 and Meaford Road were shut AGAIN by flooding today (Thursday 20th December).
Adele Cheadle was forced to close her nursery today after the area was again hit by flooding, the third time in as many weeks. Meaford Road by the George and Dragon was closed, as was the A34 southbound at the Darlaston roundabout. At the time of writing (3.30pm) the A34 northbound was open. Fire crews were pumping water from the area into the River Trent this afternoon.
Adele said today: “This is getting ridiculous and very dangerous. It’s only a matter of time before someone dies in all this floodwater. We’ve had so many people rescued from the floods, I’m worried that lives are being put at risk. The council, the Environment Agency or whoever needs to get this sorted. Yes, we’ve had lots of rain but it’s never flooded round here until this last few weeks. I’ve spoken to people who’ve lived in Meaford for 50 years and they say they can never remember it flooding before. When was the last time the A34 was shut because of flooding until very recently? Never.”
Adele said she’s written to Stone MP Bill Cash for his help in addressing the problem.
An Environment Agency spokeswoman said that investigations had been carried out over the last couple of days to determine whether the River Trent was the source of the flooding and that more information would be available soon.
A spokesman from the Canal & River Trust added that the situation was being monitored but that it didn’t believe the Trent and Mersey Canal is behind the flooding
Cllr Mike Maryon, Staffordshire County Council highways portfolio holder, said today: “The Council’s flood team visited the site early in the week to carry out a precautionary follow-up assessment. However, due to ground conditions, we were unable to do so. Once the water has subsided and we are able to fully access the site, we will return to assess the problem and take any necessary action that we may be responsible for. We will also discuss the issue with the landowner.
“Earlier this year, the county council invested £300,000 to help clear and survey the region’s gullies to help ensure they are in good shape to cope with winter storms. There has been heavy rain in most of the region and we will prioritise any gullies that have been affected.”
As ever, you can get the latest flooding updates on A Little Bit of Stone’s Twitter and Facebook pages
2 comments
Nick Tucker
Something must have happened quite recently to cause this. I live a couple of miles further down the river overlooking the Southern Meadows, which flood frequently.
On previous occasions, even when the flood water has been in the bottom of my garden, the A34 has not flooded further upstream. Yesterday, the Trent barely overflowed its banks down here, yet the A34 was flooded. This just doesn’t make sense.
Clearly, around Meaford, something has changed quite drastically in the last few months.
Chris Evans
As Adele says, this road has not flooded before this year, so what has changed to cause it to flood? Are the drains blocked? Or are the fields above it so sodden that the rain just runs off?
I drove up to Hanley this morning and saw the flood, but there was no sign on the A34 stopping people attempting to drive up Meaford Road. If the police put up some flood signs it would stop cars getting stuck!
And when I drove back later, BBC Stoke were saying the A34 was open, but there was a sign at the Darlaston roundabout saying the southbound was closed. But there was no indication as to where you were supposed to go to get south! Why hadn’t the police put up a proper diversion sign? I drove up the A51 to get round via Swynnerton, only to find that road was flooded because sandbags had been placed in a dip to hold the water on the road rather than escape down a drive. Can householders really cause a road to flood like this to prevent water escaping down their drive??
Chris