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Floods | News Flood victims felt ‘abandoned’
A TIDE of green slime engulfed properties in Tovil as the Medway broke its banks on Christmas Day. Some of the 70 flats in Hughenden Reach were left without elec- tricity for more than two weeks, and all were without water for several days, with normal service not restored for almost a month. Ten cars were wrecked as water lev- els rose in the underground car park and the entrance halls to the flats, owned by Town&Country Housing Association, were seven feet deep in the foul-smelling tide.
CHRISTMAS certainly proved to be a time of showing goodwill to all men as borough Cllr Mike Hogg and his daughter Abigail pitched in to drag sandbags in front of properties at risk in Millers Wharf and offered fresh water and the use of electricity to af- fected families – many of whom had babies and young children. Even whenwaterwas restored, the pressure was not sufficient for wash- ing, so MaidstoneCouncil offered use of the shower facilities at Mote Park. Cllr Hogg said: “The residents
showed amazing resilience, but the delay in getting water pumps fixed was unacceptable.” Resident Pru Coleman said: “We couldn’t get hold of anyone at the council or at the housing association until after the holiday – just an an- swerphone message to say call back when the offices were open. It was
disgraceful. Emotions were running very high, as we felt abandoned by the authorities. “Mr Hogg and his family showed absolute human kindness, which is very rare nowadays. “He kept us informed about what
was going on when we had no heat- ing and lighting and monitored the environment agency alerts.” Cllr Hogg said: “People without
water were filling buckets with dirty river water, so I offered them water from my house. As landlord, Town& Countrywere not exactly quick to re- pair the pumps.” A spokesman for Town & Country
said: “The car parks on the ground floor of the two buildings were flooded. The entrance to the building is at a higher level and at no time did floodwaters enter into anyone’s home. However, the pumps which supply
Community joins clean-up
SOME30 people mucked in to help clean up Tovil and the banks of the Medway following the floods. Volunteers from the
Loose Valley Conservation Society and members of the residents association joined borough councillors and members of the public from Barming and Bearsted in helping to clear three inches of mud from the towpath near Tovil Bridge. Town and Country Housing, which owns the properties in Hughenden
Reach, sent five members of staff to help with the clean-up, which resulted in six tons of rubbish being collected and a mountain ofmuddeposited back in the river. CllrMike Hogg said: “Itwas a real community
effort.The path either side of the river is now about six foot wide, wider than before the floods.”
Parking tickets add to woes Continued from page one
night and my children were asleep. What was I supposed to do? Leave them alone in a house likely to flood while I went out for half an hour to move my car and walk home? Mote Road is not exactly close.” After Cllr Hogg took the matter up
with Maidstone Council, parking company ACRO agreed to look at waiving parking tickets issued to flood victims. But a spokesman for Maidstone Council said: “The six tickets issued in Beaconsfield Road were for cars parked on double yellow lines at junc- tions and other places where they put other road users at risk and could
have prevented emergency service vehicles getting through to flood and other emergencies. “We are sorry if anyone feels they
have been issued a ticket unfairly as a result of the floods and would ask them to contact parking services, which will help them if they had to move their car due to the floods. “We will of course accept the miti-
gation where floodwaters have had a direct effect on the motorist. “We agreed to rescind any tickets
which were issued by our contractor for cars which the owners were un- able to move the morning after Maid- stone flooded. We will rescind any tickets issued for flood-damaged cars awaiting collection by insurers.”
water to the blockswere put out of ac- tion and some flats also lost their elec- tricity supply. “When the floods subsided andUK
Power Network reconnected the sup- ply, it was discovered that some resi- dents’ meters had been affected by the floodwater and required replace- ment.
“Our staff spent time at Hughen-
den Reach over the holiday period to advise residents what they needed to do, arrange for a temporary water supply until mains pressure was re- stored, and help anyone with any par- ticular problems they had. “Some residents did have trouble getting through to our out-of-hours repairs helpline because of the very high volume of storm-related calls whichwere being taken andwe apol- ogise for this.We are now looking at ways in whichwe can ensure that our
Green dirty river water fills a stairwell at Hughenden Reach, Tovil
out-of-hours service is enhanced when badweather is forecast.” He added:“Wewill also bemoving
the electricity services to a higher level, so they are not affected by any future flooding.”
Risingwaters cause chaos across region
THE might of theMedway brought Maidstone to a standstill on Christ- mas Day as the river broke its banks, creating havoc. Hundreds of properties were flooded, while thousands more were left without heat and light. The Lockmeadow complex, in- cluding the Odeon Cinemas and David Lloyd gym, were under water, along with the marketplace and ground floor premises in the Broadway shopping centre. Roads around the river – Lock- meadow, Fairmeadow, St Peter Street, Barker Road and Bishop’s Way – were impassable as water levels in the town rose. Ground floor flats in Hart Street
and FremlinWalk car park became lakes, and a middle-aged woman and two dogs had to be rescued from a houseboat in Fant. Evacuees were moved into tem-
porary accommodation while char- ities supplied furniture, clothing, duvets and blankets for people res- cued from the rising tide. Once the flood risk was ascer-
tained, KCC sprang into action, checking culverts and ditches for blockages, as well as removing fallen trees and other timber. Coaches and drivers were brought in the help evacuate those families thought to be most at risk. Maidstone Council had a team of
20 men and women working on Christmas Day and Boxing Day, de- livering sandbags, closing roads and sourcing emergency accommo- dation. Vinters Park Community Centre took in flood refugees and an emergency shelter was set up at Maidstone Leisure Centre. Bridges Wine Bar and Restaurant lost furni- ture, carpets and a £15,000marquee. Although some rural residents
were without power for three days, the Fairmeadow substation was protected and supplies were re- tained for most properties. Almost 650 homes and businesses were flooded across Kent. Power was cut to 28,500 proper-
ties and the KCC contact point took 18,941 calls over the holiday period –mostly due to flooding. There were 1,500 calls to KCC
highways regarding fallen trees and blocked roads and 331 weather-re- lated incidents attended by Kent Fire and Rescue Service. KFRS carried out 134 rescues –
127 of them on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day and some 50 people were taken to rest centres on Christ- mas Eve, of which 37 were accom- modated in hotels and B&Bs. In Yalding, 205 homes were flooded. A further 40 homes were flooded in Collier Street, plus 20 in East Peckham, six inMaidstone and nine in East Farleigh.
Maidstone Town February 2014 23
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