Surrey’s flood prevention down the drain

A recent report issued by Surrey County Council has highlighted poor or delayed performance by its sub contractors in carrying out flood prevention work such as cleaning or unblocking road drains on Surrey's roads and emptying the Council's soakaways.

Stephen Cooksey, Liberal Democrat Environment and Transport Spokesperson, said: "This work is essential to prevent flooding on Surrey's roads, which is a potential safety hazard. Also in some severe cases it may result in flooding of private properties. It is unacceptable for flooding to occur because the Conservative administration has failed to manage the contractor's performance.

"Surrey residents are dissatisfied with drain maintenance by the County Council, with 42% of Surrey residents saying they are dissatisfied with Surrey drain clearing in 2012. This level of satisfaction is extremely low compared with other councils.

"The recent County Council report on flood prevention performance shows that Surrey residents have every right to be dissatisfied. I am calling for urgent action to be taken by the Conservative administration at County Hall to ensure that the Council's road drains and soakaways are cleaned and emptied before we get heavy rain in the autumn. I am also calling for the report to be scrutinised and for all the problems raised in the report to be resolved."