Lancashire County Council U-Turn on Gully Cleansing

Every highway drainage gully will be cleaned in a planned programme if Lancashire County Council’s cabinet approve an officer recommendation this Thursday. The change will effectively reverse a 10-year policy where highway gullies were usually only cleaned in response to complaints or incidents.

Our West Lancashire have welcomed the proposed change. OWL Chairman, Councillor Adrian Owens said, “In 2015, the county council scrapped the proactive gully cleaning programme and replaced it with reactive cleansing. OWL and many others at that time said it was a backward step. We said it would lead to flooding, sheet ice hazards and deteriorating road surfaces and so it has proved.”

“Cleaning gulleys only when they were blocked was supposed to save money, but the report to councillors makes clear that reactive cleansing cost £140 per gully whereas planned proactive cleaning costs only £9.31 per gully. Any business-minded person could have predicted that.”

Councillor Owens concluded, “I’m pleased that at last this damaging policy is being binned, but not before many residents suffered flooding, vehicle damage or even injury as a result.”