Flood-ridden Barnham residents send petition to council

Mr Fulton gathered 120 names in just three hours of campaigning around the village.

He has handed over the results of his quickfire efforts to Arun District Council.

Chairman Ashvin Patel received the petition and said it would be considered at the council's performance scrutiny committee on June 16.

Mr Fulton told councillors his action concerned the problems with sewage flooding properties on Elm Grove.

"What we are looking for is for Arun, from a health and safety perspective, to get the environmental health and engineering departments involved to try to seek a way with Southern Water to prevent flooding so people can use their toilets and there are no health issues for youngsters," he said.

Tankers had been called out from Southern Water four times since last November to pump away the effluent after long periods of rain or heavy rain caused sewage to pour out of manholes from the overflowing sewers.

One of those incidents saw Barnham Primary School forced to close for almost a week before the February half-term after raw sewage flowed into several classrooms.

That occasion saw two tankers continuously pumping the contaminated flood water out of the village for about 40 hours, he said outside the council meeting. Such incidents meant residents were unable to use their toilets for two days because the sewage system was unable to cope.

Also handing in a petition against flooding were residents of Edwen Close in Nyetimber. Almost every household in the short cul-de-sac signed to make 21 names demanding action.

Maureen Cailes presented the petition to Cllr Patel. It will also be considered at the June 16 meeting.

Much of Edwen Close is turned into a lake after downpours or periods of constant rain.

Mrs Cailes said the problem was getting worse. "We've always had flooding, but nothing like this. It has happened four or five times in the past year," she explained.

"It used to be just the road which was flooded, but now the water is starting to come up into our gardens as well."

Andrew Dove, a resident of Stonehill Crescent since 1970, added that the neighbouring cul-de-sac was similarly afflicted by the worsening problem.

The residents recently met with Southern Water to try to find a solution to their problem.

Also present at the council meeting were Geoff Matcham and Linda Smith, of the Elmer Sands estate.

They are about to launch a petition to demand action to tackle flooding problems in their area. These have been unresolved since 1984.

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