Ongoing drain clearance works moves to Newport Road in Saffron Walden

R4U is delighted that work by Essex Highways to clear the blockages in the drain system under Newport Road is now well underway.

R4U’s Paul Gadd, ECC Councillor for Saffron Walden said “I’m delighted that Essex County Council Highways has now returned to complete the drain clearance work on Newport Road in Saffron Walden. Since being elected to Essex County Council I’ve been working to identify the various drain blockage and flood problems around the town. I’ve then prioritised them for Anglian Water and Essex Highways to fix. We recognised Newport Road as a key area of focus. Surface water from the south of town is generally channelled under Rowntree Way and Summerhill Road and adjoining roads before going under Newport Road and down to the Slade. Residents may remember heavy flooding in this area during the torrential rain storms in July 2021. The various blockages along this route are being systematically removed.”

Update on 4th February: During their works a couple of weeks ago, the ECC drain team have discovered another blockage in the Newport Rd drains. They say they will return soon to clear that too.

Cllr Gadd continued “The Newport Road clearance has taken longer than hoped as some of the maintenance crew are also involved with gritting, which has resumed with the recent cold nights. Residents should be hopeful that Essex Highways will soon have remedied the flooding problems affecting this area. This builds on the previous work to clear regular problems on Little Walden Road, East Street and a number of smaller roads. We will then move on to trying to address the remaining flooding concerns in Saffron Walden, especially Bridge St. Residents should contact me if they have concerns about other areas in Saffron Walden that regularly flood that they believe need to be prioritised with ECC.”

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