By Jamie Waller, Local Democracy Reporter
A man who has lost £20,000 after sudden spates of flooding at his home is asking the authorities to investigate the cause.
Andy Palmer’s property in Burton Joyce has been flooded four times in the last three months.
Although the incidents follow rainfall, he says nothing similar has happened in the previous decade and the exact cause is unknown.
The first time in October caused damage throughout the ground floor, and ruined thousands of pounds worth of items.
He has been forced to use pumps to prevent water from entering the house three times since then.
Properties on either side of Andy’s house on Nottingham Road have also been affected by the localised flooding.
He has contacted his council and other authorities in an attempt to resolve the problems.
Severn Trent, which is responsible for managing sewers, says it hasn’t found any issues with the network, and is continuing to investigate.
“The first thing I knew was when I got a call from a neighbour on October 20 that water was rising around the house. My wife got home and found the water coming up,” Andy said.
“It rose around the front of the house until the drive was under 50cm of water, then the back garden and came up through the hardwood floors.
“It started around 11am, and we couldn’t get it all out until 1am.
“My wife hurt herself with the strain of moving things away from the water – and then there’s the emotional stress we’ve had.
“It has started coming up through the manhole three times since then, and we have to use the pumps to keep it down. It’s like the drains can’t deal with this volume of rain.
“It’s worrying going out in case it happens again.
“We have contacted the council and Severn Trent, but no one seems to know why this is happening.
“It cost us £20,000 because not all of the items damaged in the garage were insured, and we are only just getting electricity back on downstairs.
“We’ve been here for nine years, and nothing like this has ever happened before. Something has clearly changed recently.
“It feels like everyone else has been drinking mulled wine and looking forward to Christmas, while we’re still recovering from what has happened.”
A Severn Trent spokesperson said: “We’re sorry to hear about the issues Mr Palmer has experienced, as we know just how distressing experiencing any kind of flooding can be.
“We’ve had one report of flooding at this property that our teams attended, and while they found no sewer flooding or issues with the network, we did arrange a follow-on meeting with Mr Palmer as we are aware of a wider surface flooding issue in the area.
“Surface water flooding is when there’s a lot of rainfall in a short amount of time that can’t drain away quick enough through the drains and gullies.
“We’re working closely with the Lead Local Flood Authority, Nottinghamshire County Council, and the Highway Authority, VIA-EM, on this wider issue, to understand what can be done to reduce the flood risk in in the area.
“Mr Palmer has our teams direct contact number, so we’d be more than happy to speak with him and arrange a future visit.”
A spokesperson for Nottinghamshire County Council said: “Nottinghamshire County Council and Via East Midlands are currently investigating flooding issues on Nottingham Road, Burton Joyce.
“We are also in contact with Severn Trent Water to determine the causes of flooding in the area. On the outcome of the investigation, appropriate action will be taken in regard to the flooding issues.”
