‘I didn’t expect to be dealing with this so soon’ – newly elected Doncaster councillor on flash floods after heavy rainfall

Roads and some homes were hit with flash floods on Sunday evening (May 16) around Adwick and Highfields following continuous rainfall.

Coun Sarah Smith elected less than a fortnight ago, said she expected to deal with flooding at some point but was surprised it came so soon.

Council officials said water was up to nine inches deep in parts and mud and sludge had been washed on the road at Whinfell Close, Adwick.

Church Lane also experienced some flooding as did Red House Lane.

Coun Smith said some parts of the ward experienced flooding for the first time while other parts were becoming a more common occurrence.

Her ward councillors Debbie Hutchinson and John Mounsey also responded to flooding in different parts of the ward.

“It was coming to the tops of your legs at some points I visited, Coun Smith said.

“Council workers did an excellent job in clearing the water, there was a lot of mess especially with the mud being washed up along the roads in some parts of the ward.

“It’s just about reassuring residents and helping out in ways you can. We also managed to get Yorkshire Water out to check the pumps in the area – they were working but they were near capacity and were struggling to handle a massive amount of water in a short space of time.

“We are assessing different ways in which we can help make sure residents feel safer in this as well because we’ve got a long term plan, but obviously, we need the short term solutions as well to make sure people do feel safe or that we are prepared.

Coun Smith said DMBC officers were assessing the field close to Whinfell Close which brought up mud and was carried by the rain water which made a mess of the road and people’s gardens.

“The issue of climate change and the increased risk of flooding is concerning, especially in Doncaster,” she added.

“It’s really high on our agenda and to be honest, I knew flooding was going to be an issue in my time as a councillor, but I just didn’t think it would come so soon.”

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