Greg writes to Northumbria Water calling for urgent flood prevention measures for Cochrane Park and Walkerville

1.50.00pm BST (GMT +0100) Mon 6th Jul 2009

Greg Stone, Lib Dem spokesman for Newcastle East, is to write urgently to Northumbria Water to investigate progress in improving drainage infrastructure in the east of the city, particularly in the area around Benfield Road and Red Hall Drive.

Heavy summer rainfall has caused repeated flooding in these locations, due to the inability of the local drainage system to cope. The Benfield Road bridge under the Metro line and the Coast Road roundabout at Chillingham Road have been particularly affected in recent years.

Greg commented "I have written to John Mowbray, who is corporate affairs director at Northumbria Water, asking what steps can be taken to speed up installation of new wider-bore drain carriers, which would allow faster drainage than at present. My understanding is that the underlying drain system in the Cochrane Park and Walkerville areas is of an old-fashioned narrow-bore type which simply cannot cope with heavy storms, causing flash floods".

"Although I am conscious that efforts have been taken in the north of the city to improve flood defence in the vicinity of the Ouseburn including at Gosforth Park and Red Hall Farm, the flood risk in the east of the city is not primarily caused by rising watercourse levels but by the inability of the drainage system to cope"