Derby City Council to buy second gully cleaning lorry

A second gully cleaner will complement the council's existing vehicle

Derby City Council is to buy a new gully cleaning lorry after it emerged it only had one specialist vehicle to keep more than 40,000 drains unblocked.

The authority agreed to purchase the lorry when it approved its budget on Wednesday.

The decision followed talks between the Labour-run authority's executive and Tory opposition councillors, the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) said.

The new vehicle will cost £180,000.

The council previously said it did not have enough money to bolster its fleet but the ruling Labour group accepted a Conservative budget amendment to make funds available.

'Really positive'

Conservative councillor Jonathan Smale told the city council budget meeting: "With the floods and torrential rain we have had recently, I think there is progress to be made there by using our capital budget to purchase a gully cleaner and help complement the one we currently have."

Labour council leader Baggy Shanker said: "I am totally prepared to accept any changes that will result in delivering value and better services for our residents."

The move was welcomed by Normanton resident Simon Bacon who had previously complained to the council about blocked drains.

He said the agreed purchase was "really positive", adding: "With our 43,000 drains I hope it will slash the timeframe that's needed to deal with the drainage issue."