Calls made over flood defence work on city street

Residents are calling for urgent work to be carried out on their road after repeated flooding.

A wall on Sewell's Walk in Lincoln is designed to act as a flood defence between the dyke and houses – but the sunken road has led to a gap in the wall, causing water to seep through during heavy rain.

The Environment Agency, which manages the flood wall, said it was "discussing next steps" with Lincolnshire County Council Highways, which maintains the road.

Colin Davie, the council's executive member for environment, said the authority was investigating what could be done to deal with the flooding.

Councillor Debbie Armiger, who represents Park Ward, said Sewell's Walk experienced about 2in of flooding during heavy rain last week.

Dave Stanton has lived there for about 30 years.

"[The water] doesn't come over, it comes under, because you can see all the road has given way," he said.

"There's way too much traffic on the road."

Helen Stewart, 57, has lived on the street for 16 years.

She said: "Down here and in Boultham Avenue, and other places, I don't think the flood defences are sufficient."

Rosen Dzhimov, 31, who was staying on the street with a friend, said: "I basically couldn't get into my car because everything was flooded.

"Afterwards it was all frozen so it was dangerous to walk to the street, and a lot of people fell."

An Environment Agency spokesperson said: "The flood wall, maintained by the EA, has not moved and remains at the same level.

"However, the movement of heavy traffic on the road may have caused the road to sink and has left a gap between the wall and the road, leading to water seeping through.

"The road is the responsibility of Lincolnshire County Council Highways, and we are discussing next steps with them."

Davie said: "We are aware of the issues of surface water flooding on Sewell's Walk during periods of heavy rain and have been carrying out investigations into what can be done to address them.

"Whilst we will continue to carry out repairs on the road in this area as necessary, the flood defence itself is managed by the Environment Agency, who have to prioritise limited resources."

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