A council report into flash flooding in Knaresborough last year “downplayed” the role blocked drainage gullies played in the incident, it has been claimed.
Residents of the North Yorkshire town still get worried during heavy rain after more than 50 properties were flooded in May 2024, a meeting of North Yorkshire Council’s Harrogate and Knaresborough area committee was told.
A council report into the incident concluded that while some gullies were blocked, they were not responsible for the flooding.
But Liberal Democrat councillor for the Knaresborough West division, Matt Walker, was critical of the report and its findings.
He said: “It seems to gloss over the key issues. The report downplays blocked gullies and their impact. Residents and I continue to report multiple blocked gullies every single week.
“There seems to be a clear mismatch between what we see on the ground and what the council are telling us.”
Claiming the report contained factual errors, including stating that the flooding occurred in 2025 not 2024, he added: “The report calls the 2024 event unprecedented. Residents have shared that flooding happened in 1999, 2006 and 2021.
“I would say this isn’t unprecedented. It’s a pattern. To me it suggests that there’s deeper vulnerabilities in our infrastructure and our assessment.
“This is happening in a more than 100-year event, and it’s clearly only going to get worse with global warming and the floods that we’ve seen in recent weeks.
“We need to listen to our residents and not dismiss their concerns. We need to challenge some of the assumptions in the report and I do think we need to start with better maintenance of the gullies.”
In response, David Piercy, senior floor risk engineer at the council, told the meeting on Thursday that officers would take the councillor’s points away.
He added: “With regard to the statement that it’s unprecedented, I don’t think it refers to the number of flood events, more the scale of the event that occurred at that time.
“I understand the frustration and I understand the fear of residents. I’ve seen many instances over the years of people being flooded and it is heartbreaking and it is a lot to deal with.
“We will always do our best to help people where we can.”
The officer said the gullies had silt traps, which were designed to collect silt. The traps could be 60 per cent full and the drainage system still worked as it should, he added.
The meeting heard that the schedule of gully cleansing would be reviewed in Knaresborough.
