I spent the morning being inducted into the arcane world of village ditch and drain systems, courtesy of Thriplow village parish council.
The thing is that if you scroll back 50 years there were probably several old boys in any village who could tell you where all the water flowed down which ditch and gully, and equally would be happy to clear out the silt and mud for five shillings cash down and a pint. Fast forward to Thriplow Daffodil weekend this year and there was a large pond across Middle Street, blocking the road, and the water just wasn't going down.
The county council eventually jetted out the drain as agreed and then discovered they couldn't clear any further because the water hit another silted ditch near the war memorial - they cleared that (good job, lads, keep going) - and then hit another silt block across the road near the old forge, but as this is parish council land the PC needs to dig down first.
Clearing years, if not decades, of ignored silt and mud needs the county highways team and the parish council and various landowners to work together. Thankfully the meeting this morning and recent efforts showed this is possible.
Why bother? Well, a rainy winter and suddenly we are talking flood risks. 
No comments:
Post a Comment