"We're living on the edge all the time": Angry Derbyshire resident calls for flood prevention measures after Storm Babet


Carlie Hayward and her husband Peter Sivitter saw their house in Poolsbrook severely flooded after Storm Babet in October 2023 and were forced to move out for nine months – with renovation works still ongoing a year after the floods.
Two weeks ago Peter and Carlie had a narrow escape from another flood and are now calling for flood prevention measures to be implemented in the village.
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Hide AdCarlie said: “Our garden and gardens across the road started flooding from the pipelines, and we ended up baling water out of the pipes. We had 10 to 15 residents creating a chain to bail the water out. The only reason our property didn't flood again was because we were there bucketing for over two hours.


"It's the same properties that flooded during the storm. Last year, we kept being told that it was a freak storm, a once-in-a-while thing that doesn't usually happen. We're not even a year past this storm and we're already at a risk of flooding again.
"It's horrendous. We're living on the edge all the time. We're watching the weather maps, and I've signed up for storm alerts. We're constantly walking around the village, checking the waterways, just trying to be ready for it.
"We can't relax. Not a day goes by that we're not worrying and thinking, how can we stop this happening? What do we need to do next? We're exhausted.
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Hide Ad"We had the meeting, everyone made promises to do certain things, Derbyshire County Council, Yorkshire Water, Gleeson Homes. But promises are not enough. Nothing gets done.


"We live in fear. We're unable to put the last flood behind us because we are constantly having to get ready for the next and they keep talking about budget, and arguing about whose own a culvert or a dyke. This is our lives, we can't rest, we can't we can't enjoy our lives. because we're stuck in this limbo where we know what needs fixing but we don’t see work done.
"We'd like to see various parties working together better and the work being done. They need to put an urgency on this, and see them doing the work they promised.”
Councillor Anne-Frances Hayes, said: “Poolsbrook village was hit very badly by Storm Babet last year and a number of residential properties and the Social Welfare Club suffered flood damage, with some residents having to wait up to nine months before being allowed to return to their properties.
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Hide Ad“In anticipation of increased rainfall, I arranged a meeting with residents, which was also attended by senior engineers from Derbyshire County and Chesterfield Borough councils, and Yorkshire Water. Several inefficiencies in terms of water flow across the village were identified and officers went away with a list of actions to rectify these – including to liaise with Gleeson’s Homes who are in process of building a new development in the village – reportedly on a known flood plain - and Valencia Waste Management who operate the huge waste upfill that dominates Poolsbrook and Duckmanton.
“Sadly, the heavy rainfall at the end of September led to houses having their gardens flooded causing real fears that the rain would reach inside their properties again. I along with residents in the village formed a human chain ladling water from overflowing garden drains and transporting it to the highway drainage system. However, it didn’t take long before the gullies along the highway became under threat of overflowing.
"Despite the involvement of the fire service, the Environment Agency, Chesterfield Borough Council and Yorkshire Water all of whom attended the scene, nothing was able to be done. Fortunately, this time the rain abated, and internal flooding was avoided.
“The next day I arranged for Derbyshire County Council’s Senior Project Engineer and Chesterfield Borough Council’s Senior Engineer to join me on a walkabout across the village and, with residents, we spent over two hours touring the various inlets and outlets in an effort to understand the issues and whose responsibilities they are. Since then, I’m pleased to learn that work has been carried out to repair some damaged valves and clear some gullies.
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Hide Ad"In addition, the County Council has provided a list of actions carried out for residents to show to insurers, and is providing support including funding to help us set up a ‘flood hub’ to store equipment such as sand bags and aqua sheets as well as free training for volunteers.
“Much still needs to be done to assuage my and residents’ fears of a recurrence of the devasting flooding, but I am assured by Derbyshire County Council that discussions are ongoing between all operators and authorities. I am looking forward to seeing work begin on extending the size of the dyke at the bottom of the village, which worryingly also has problems with sewage backing up from other parts of the county. Promises have been made to get this work completed as a priority and I will be watching closely and supporting residents to ensure that this is done.”
A Yorkshire Water spokesperson said: “We have previously carried out CCTV of the surface water sewers in the area and ensured debris is cleared from outfalls. We are still investigating surface water infiltration into the sewer network and have scheduled some cleansing work at our Sewage Pumping Station in the area to reduce the risks of blockages.
"We will continue to liaise with residents in the area and local elected members to keep them updated on the progress of this work.
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Hide Ad“We are aware that some flooding occurred recently due to extreme wet weather and all of the relevant agencies continue to work together in the area to reduce the likelihood of flooding that occurred in Poolsbrook following Storm Babet happening again.”
A spokesperson for Chesterfield Borough Council said: “We are aware of the issues and are continuing to work with Gleeson Homes, and our partners at Derbyshire County Council and Yorkshire Water to try to resolve them. We appreciate the concerns of the residents, and our team will continue to provide them with regular updates.”
A Gleeson spokesperson said: “Gleeson is aware of concerns regarding flooding issues around the Poolsbrook area. Following planning obligations, Gleeson considered the flood risk associated with the redevelopment of the area, which satisfied all necessary planning approvals. The flooding mechanisms in this area remain exceptionally complex which unfortunately has been exacerbated with extreme weather events.
Gleeson remains in discussions with Derbyshire County Council, Chesterfield Borough Council and Yorkshire Water to discuss issues associated with an existing off-site large diameter combined water sewage which has experienced surcharge in heavy rainfall events as witnessed recently.”
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Hide AdA spokesperson for Derbyshire County Council said: “We are aware of the issues at Poolsbrook, and understand the concern and impact this is having on local residents, so we went out on site again recently to meet with impacted residents.
"We are now analysing what measures would best reduce the flood risk for those householders who sadly flooded last year, and we are dealing with this as a priority, which will include a further meeting with relevant partner organisations over the next week, and we will keep doing all we can to find a permanent solution to the flooding issues here.”
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