Lib Dem County Councillor Digs Deep for Drainage Ditch

Aldbury near Tring is a pretty village set in a bowl of the Chiltern Hills. With Ashridge to the east, Ivinghoe Beacon to the north and Pitstone Hill to the west, drainage could always be a problem, though the porous chalk usually drains well. Down at the bottom of the village, of course, with clay and and silt outwash it is a different matter.

Hard and prolonged rain, such as has been getting more common in the winters, is a test for any drainage system. A culvert runs down Trooper Road and Stoneycroft fed from the pond and also collecting water from the roads. This then runs through a pipe for 100 yards and discharges into a ditch. Unfortunately silt and mud get washed along and end up accumulating in the ditch which flows slower and slower.

About 6 years ago the water backed up and came within half an inch of flooding houses in Stoneycroft. The following year Lib Dem Cllr Nick Hollinghurst got the County Council (even though this was not their responsibility) to dig out the ditch for a 100 yards or so. This kept the floods at bay for some time.

Last year, however the ditch was silted up again. Once again Cllr Hollinghurst found the means to have the ditch cleared - from his Community Fund this time, rather than from the Highway Locality Budget, since this was not a highway issue. Anyway, that should last another 6 or 7 years!