Have you noticed the number of road work and road closures in our area and the very large hole that has appeared in Great Tattenhams.

No, its not the Council building a nuclear bunker or a new swimming pool for Tattenham Corner.

This is the second of a number of new soakaway drains to reduce the flooding that some homes have experienced in recent years. The first has recently been completed in St Mark’s Road.

Residents may remember the huge summer downpours in 2020 and 2021. The local drainage systems just couldn’t cope, and water flowed from roofs, gardens and roads into gardens downstream and in some unfortunate cases into garages and homes. The highest point round here is near the Leisure Centre and water flows to the north through Tattenhams, Nork and on to the Drift Bridge. Our highway drains are not linked to the Thames Water drainage system, and water is captured through gullies into giant soakaways and then seeps into the underlying chalk.

Surrey Highways are planning three additional soakaways to infiltrate and store more water during storm events. The first of these has just been completed in St Mark’s Road by the church and the second is currently underway in Great Tattenhams.

Larger, more hydraulic efficient gully grates will also replace those on existing soakaways. Collectively this should ensure more water is caught along the flow route reducing the water getting to the low point and beyond, decreasing the frequency and severity of floods. More engineering studies are being finalised further down the flow route.

Sorry for the inconvenience these road works will cause but the end result will improve our ability to reduce flooding in the future.