Blocked drains not to blame for flood, report says

About 54mm of rainfall fell within a 35 minute period in Knaresborough in May 2024

Blocked drains were not responsible for causing flash flooding that damaged dozens of homes and businesses in Knaresborough in May 2024, a report has said.

More than 50 properties were affected after about 2ins (54mm) of rainfall fell within a 35 minute period - a one in a 516-year event according to North Yorkshire Council.

Some residents were forced to evacuate their homes and were unable to return for several months.

A council report said the town's drainage system had failed to move the rainwater away quickly enough "as it is simply not designed with the capacity to cope with the amount of water which was present".

After the incident, householders blamed blocked drainage gullies for causing the flooding, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

But a North Yorkshire Council report concluded that while several gullies in the town had been blocked for some time, this was not a reason for the flooding.

Site visits carried out by highways staff after the incident found that only a small number of gullies were under-performing due to blockages.

Officers said the flash flooding was an "an extreme event" and that the gullies were "already beyond capacity" as a result.

The report said the drainage system "failed to convey water away quickly enough to avert the flooding as it is simply not designed with the capacity to cope with the amount of water which was present, and as such no further capacity assessments are necessary".

Mark Robinson and his family were left homeless for about five months after their house was flooded.

He criticised the report's findings and said he believed the drains would have been cleared more regularly if Harrogate Borough Council still existed.

He said: "No-one seems to want to take responsibility for this happening but they are happy to blame each other."

The report suggested that Yorkshire Water and North Yorkshire work together to separate surface water and foul drainage by promoting the use of sustainable drainage systems.

The proposals will be discussed by councillors at a meeting on 26 September.

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