Shops in Barnard Castle Town Centre call for action ‘before another flood'

FIVE years on from a flash flood in Barnard Castle there are fears the waters could return.

The floods of 2012 in Barnard Castle

Rain run off on Market Place, in Barnard Castle, has inundated The Number 15 Cafe three times in the past three years. Owner Emma Rowell said the cafe had been forced to close for three days in that time but warned that the next flood could be the last for her business. She added: “It happens when we get very high intense rainfall. The 2012 flood was described to us as a once-in-a-lifetime event but we’re aware it happens more than that.”

Northumbrian Water has earmarked Barnard Castle as one of its “priority areas”, carrying out survey work around the town through their “Rainwise” campaign. Contractors for the group carried out CCTV analysis of sewers and drains under Galgate last week. But Durham County Council modelling has not identified Barnard Castle as being at flood risk – despite the cafe's experiences.

“The reality is we see a regular flooding event,” added Ms Rowell. “We cannot do anything more than we have done – I have had the back walls done, we have repellant coverings, perspex screens up and it still happens. There is a limit to what I can do.”

It is thought two large drainage tunnels cater for the Market Place area of town fed by smaller tributary pipes.

They lead in a Y-shape to a pipe with what is believed to be the same bore underneath Newgate and down to the river.

“Another problem is the drainage from the Hole in the Wall car park,” added Ms Rowell. “We can have up to five feet backed up because the drains are not adequate – on top of that they are not dredged enough so often they are full of silt.”

The county council’s flood risk assessment lists Barnard Castle as having “insufficient sewer capacity” when it came to historical instances of flooding in Newgate and near The Granary. However, there is little mention of the town centre. Ms Rowell’s cafe flooded this year, last year and in 2013. She believes Northumbrian Water and the county council need to work together.

She added: “We’re suffering from it – there are a lot of small independent businesses here and we appreciate the relief we get on business rates.

“We don’t want to be put out of business because of floods.”

Subsidence has also presented problems for Number 15 and a number of other shops. Ms Rowell said engineering work under Newgate would offer some form of solution to flooding.

“If there is a solution to the problem, let’s get on and do it,’ she added. “It seems the county council and Northumbrian Water have known about this for a long time but they see it as the other agency’s problem.”

The owner of Star Flowers, Francesca Waring, had a near flooding miss last month in her Market Place shop.

She said: “The impression I get is the problems at Emma’s shop started when they put Tarmac down at the Hole in the Wall car park.

“Many times you walk around Barnard Castle and see blocked drains. We live in a town where a lot of the buildings are ancient and the drains are ancient.”

Brian Buckley, Durham County Council’s strategic highways manager, said: “We are already working in close partnership with Northumbrian Water to investigate the cause of flooding incidents in the Newgate area of Barnard Castle. Once we’ve identified the cause of the flooding we’ll be working with partners to identify mitigation measures.”

A spokesperson from Northumbrian Water said: “Through our Rainwise scheme, we are continuously investigating opportunities across the North East to remove surface water from the sewer network. This will help to increase capacity within the pipes, which is key to reducing the risk of flooding during times of heavy rainfall. Barnard Castle has been identified as one of our Rainwise areas. As part of this, we are working very closely with Durham County Council to share information and look at the main causes of flooding in the area.”

Northumbrian Water will be visiting Barnard Castle on Tuesday, August 1, outside the Methodist Church, between 8.30am and 4pm. The spokesperson added: “This will help us to get a better understanding of the complex drainage in the area and allow us to explore opportunities to carry out future flood reduction projects.”

The newly formed Teesdale Business Association (TBA) intends to make flood management in the town centre one of its early priorities.