Aston Village flood

Aston has experienced regular flooding. Our Lead Local Flood Authority team has inspected the area to find out why.

We believe the flooding is caused by surface water. This is also called pluvial or flash flooding. It happens when heavy rain cannot soak into the ground or drain away. Water then collects in large puddles or flows quickly across roads and paths.

Blocked drains, saturated soil and more hard surfaces can make this worse.

• Check surface water mapping using a local postcode - see an overview of Aston 

What causes flooding in Aston

We have undertaken CCTV inspection of the highway drainage network, which runs through third party land.

During the survey, we found minor tree root ingress. This has been removed to keep water flowing freely

The land where the drains run can become heavily saturated, especially in winter. When this happens, the highway drains can be overwhelmed by water from local roads and fields.

We also found that the watercourses the highway drains discharge into have mostly been culverted (piped) over time. These are likely hard to access or maintain.

What we've done so far

We’ve taken several steps to reduce flooding and improve drainage:

• Set up a working group with Cheshire East Council, United Utilities, the local Ward Member, and Parish Council. The group meets quarterly to discuss the progress of the investigations and agree further actions.
• Carried out CCTV surverys and and high-pressure jetting on parts of  the highway drainage system, clearing root ingress and debris.
• Worked with local stakeholders such as HJ Lea Oakes to identify improvements which could be made to the local drainage network.
• Written to local landowners near local watercourses to advise them of their responsibilities to keep channels, ditches and culverts clear and free flowing.
• Met with local residents to address their concerns and learn from their experiences of flooding.

Future action

We plan to carry out more investigations of the local drainage system.

We have already identified points where we can use camera inspections and high-pressure jetting to keep the drains clear. This work will take place in due course.

Our responsibilities

Under the Flood and Water Management Act 2010, we are obliged to investigate significant and repeated flood incidents. We will continue to investigate and publish any updates on this webpage.  

Check your flood risk

To find out about the risk of flooding, check both surface water and fluvial flood risk at your location.

The Government advice is that property owners in flood risk areas consider installing property flood resilience measures and sign up to the free flood warning service to received alerts and warnings: sign up for flood warnings.

Responsibilities for managing rivers and watercourses

For more details, see guidance owning a watercourse.

Further advice on the Council's approach to managing these watercourses can also be found on the Flood risk management page.