Owner of flooded house calls on council to clear drain blocked with building waste

A Brighton couple whose house flooded because of a drain blocked by building waste is calling on the council to clear it out before it happens again.

Marcus and Freddie live in Southampton Street, near the top of the hill in Hanover – but their elevated position didn’t stop the rain getting into their basement when the heavens opened last month.

They believe the blockage happened when builders poured render down the drains last summer – but the council’s attempts to clear it with high pressure water failed.

During the downpour on 20 June, water from the street poured into their basement lightwell and into their living room. Now, they fear it could happen again unless more is done to unblock the drain.

And after contacting the council, they were surprised to be told that rather than fixing the drain, the council told them it’s not the council’s responsibility to keep their house watertight.

Marcus said: “We believe the drain was blocked when builders washed excess render down the drain and it blocked it.

“My neighbours and I first encountered the issue when we moved into autumn and winter and began to experience heavy rain which began to come up over the pavement and up to the front walls of our houses.

“At the time mine was close and I think the people two doors down were flooded.

“Last month, our ground floor was completely flooded. We had to buy a wet vacuum and clear the water as quickly as we could. I was mainly trying to calm the kids down as they were screaming as it was rushing in.”

A council spokesman said the council has a duty to maintain safe roads and pavements, but not to ensure the road acts as an impermeable layer or to restrict ground water beneath the surface.

He said: “We are aware that a specific surface water drain on Southampton Street is blocked. We have no specific evidence about concrete poured into the drain being a factor in this blockage.

“We have tried to clear the blockage with high-pressure water. Unfortunately, this did not resolve the problem.

“The lie of the land is such that, under normal rainfall conditions, the water makes its way to the gully on the opposite side of the road and this second gully is able to deal with the extra water.

“During the recent exceptional downpour, the second gully was unable to deal with all the water that came its way.

“We will make further attempts to unblock the drain. In the meantime, we encourage residents to ensure that their properties are watertight.”