Canterbury shop owners blame multi-million pound development for flooding
Businesses in Canterbury, which have repeatedly flooded in heavy rain, are blaming a million pound scheme designed to improve the area.Shop owners near the city's famous Westgate Towers, who were inundated earlier this week, say the pavements and road there now funnel water towards their premises.
Kent County Council is investigating and late this afternoon the city's MP talked to locals about their concerns.Water poured into shops and an overwhelmed drain appears to have collapsed under the strain.But businesses say they had never flooded before the 1.5 million pound improvement works began.They say the road is now too high and newly extended pavements slope towards the shops.Water poured from the street into Ali Maroof's barber shop, completely filling his basement.
Ali Maroof said: "I didn't know what to do. I just turned it off, everything, all the powers, we shut the shop.
"We just got out because it was so dangerous, because of the electrics in the cellar and the gas meter in the cellar.
"I blame the road, because they didn't do a proper job."
Today, Canterbury MP visited the affected businesses.
Rosie Duffield, the MP for Canterbury, said: "I'm really concerned about the extra thousands of houses being built in the area.
"If we can't cope now, if our drains are overflowing, if the council doesn't have a proper plan - either the city council or the county council we are in for a world of pain.
"And it needs to be sorted out before we build those houses."
A spokesperson from Kent County Council (KCC) said: 'We are very sorry to hear about the impact of flooding on residents and businesses in Canterbury, particularly those affected on St Dunstans Street.
"Our teams responded to 29 flooding emergencies in the area and worked tirelessly to support those affected. This included arranging urgent flood clearance and providing FloodSax to help protect properties from further damage.
"As part of our recovery efforts, we are prioritising the clearance of drains on affected roads, particularly in areas where internal property flooding has occurred – including businesses.
'We are committed to understanding what has happened and taking any necessary steps to prevent it happening again.
"Our engineers are on site and are working with our contractor, FM Conway, and Southern Water to inspect the surface water drainage systems in the area.
"If these systems are not found to be at fault, we will investigate further to determine the cause of the flooding.
"As we continue to monitor the situation closely, we encourage any residents or business owners who need assistance to contact us directly so we can provide the appropriate support.'
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