Newsroom

Your reports needed for extra summer gully cleansing drive in Nottinghamshire

Nottinghamshire County Council is inviting residents to report blocked drains and gullies in their area as part of the Summer Gully Cleanse, a gully clearing works programme. 

Via East Midlands, Nottinghamshire County Council’s highways partner, will work alongside gully cleansing contractor, Flowline; to undertake gully cleansing works this summer, which is in addition to the council’s year-round maintenance programme on Nottinghamshire’s 185,000 highway gullies and drains.

While all gullies in the county are cleaned and their condition is logged on a regular cyclical basis, some blockages can occur between cleanses, so the council and Via are asking residents and road users to let them know about any problem sites in their local area.

These are the four types of gully blockage that should be reported.

A: Visible blockage in gully
B: Gully full to/above the top with debris
C: Standing water pooling around the gully while other areas are clear
D: Water visible in gully, but no debris

This information will be used to create a programme of additional gully cleanses through the summer months, as well as informing the wider gully cleansing programme.

Councillor Neil Clarke MBE, Cabinet Member for Transport and Environment at Nottinghamshire County Council said, “The drainage infrastructure on our roads and pavements in the county does an important job to keep our highways safe and reducing the risk of flooding.

“The Via East Midlands team do the vital work of ensuring that our drains and gullies are kept clean with all gullies being cleansed on a regular basis, but there are times where gullies may become blocked or are unable to cope with particularly heavy rainfall.

“We all need to play our part in helping to keep water draining correctly from our highway network and that’s why we’re asking residents and road users in the county to let us know about any areas of concern in their locality.

“These extra cleanses during the summer will enable us to focus on some of these sites, but we’ll also use the reports to help to inform our year-round programme.”

The Council also wanted to remind residents to not use highway drains to dispose of their waste. This includes cooking fat, paint, and other liquids, or other waste items which can block or contaminate the drains. Residents should recycle waste wherever possible, dispose of it in the bin, or take to a household waste site.

As part of the Great Summer Gully Cleanse programme, residents are being asked to log details of blocked drains and gullies in their area, along with a photograph of the gully, by using a simple online form, which is available at www.viaem.co.uk/summer-gully-cleanse