Diddlebury Parish Flood Action Group
Report on Flooding on B4368 at Corfton by the Sun Inn – December 2020
The flooding was first noticed on the afternoon of Thursday 17th December when the two images below were taken.
B4368 looking south west from the Sun Inn The Bus Layby opposite the Sun Inn
It was difficult to see exactly where the water was coming from but it was emerging on the north side of the road and was ponding in front of Warwick Cottage where the owner had laid sand bags to protect his house. The water then ran across the road to pond in the Bus layby opposite the Sun Inn. A gully on the north side of the road was spewing water up which indicated a blockage downstream.
These images were sent by email to Highways Dept on the morning of Friday 18th with a request for action.
On Tuesday 22nd, a team from Highways Dept was on site and the cause of the problem was identified as a blocked pipe beneath the B4368. This pipe transmits water running down Corfton Bache beneath the B4368 to the south side of the road and hence into Lower Corfton. The pipe was cleared after some difficulty and the flooding subsided that evening.
An inspection on Wednesday 23rd December showed that the pipe in question started just inside the road reserve where the stream running down the Bache runs – just to the west of Warwick Cottage as shown on the map below.
The start of the pipe is unprotected as shown in the following two images. Water from the Bache stream passes through a grating in the hedge line into a depression where it should enter the pipe and get away. With the pipe being blocked, water had built up until it flooded across the road and into Warwick Cottage’s driveway.
