HEAVY rain caused floods, with Four Marks children having to be carried across a road to school and Alton residents warning against development, last week. Flooding returned to Chawton Park Road, Alton, an area threatened by more 'development'. With Sentinel Housing Association Ltd, appealing against the dismissal of an appeal to build 63 properties on the Alton Day Service and railway embankment site, resident John Bird is urging the county to sort out the drainage in the road. Mr Bird says the road slopes down from Four Marks causing water to pour from the fields onto the road, which itself slopes. He added that the Treloar Heights development has made things worse, and that the land earmarked for development, behind houses in Chawton Park Road, has been raised, leading to fears of even more water running off into gardens. "Last week several properties had water to within an inch or two of their front doors. They had to get the sandbags out again. The problem is the properties are lower than the road. "We are not convinced that measures taken are adequate to prevent the flow of water. They say that a scheme is in place, but that's not the same as saying flooding can't happen. We run the risk of it happening again. It's unacceptable because of the damage it does and there are people of advanced years who can't cope. "There should be no more building in Chawton Park Road until issues of drainage have been solved," he said. A Hampshire County Council spokesman said: "This road is susceptible to flooding, and we hope to improve the drainage this year. We're also aiming to get landowners to ensure their ditches are clear to help alleviate the problem." Drains outside Four Marks Primary School failed to cope with the deluge. The road flooded leaving parents to carry youngsters across the road to school. Caretaker and lollipopman, Jeff Taylor, said that despite drainage works eight months ago, when HCC put in 10 new drains and seven soakaways, heavy rain still causes flooding. "Since they were put in, no-one has cleared the drains so they are blocked with leaves and silt coming down the hill. It accumulates at the junction but when the school has called HCC, they say it's not serious enough. "It was about three inches deep across the road so it was very difficult to cross. It's a waste of the money spent if they are not going to maintain it. "Every time it rains it happens, within 10 minutes, the water's there." Mr Taylor pulls out what he can from the drains but within minutes they block again. Headteacher, Lynda Frith, said: "For years, we had huge problems, then the county put in the soakaways. They did a fantastic job but they have silted up and we are back to square one. "We are at the bottom of a hill and the roads run down so all the mud runs down. It's purely because it needs clearing out, and we have asked them to clear them out on a regular basis." An HCC spokesman said: "We have been switching from our previous highways contractor to our new one, Amey. Please be assured that these gullies are on the programme for regular maintenance, and will be cleared by Amey shortly." There was more flooding near the Lion's Head south of Selborne. HCC says this is on private land and not its responsibility.
