March 2025
Flooding and Drainage update as at 16th March 2025.
At the 11th March MAG meeting Network Rail confirmed that the CML contract team leader who started work in January no longer worked for CML, hence work planned for February was never completed over the half term week. The digger and dumper truck has sat there unused since! I wonder who is paying for that? A new team arrived on site overnight on the 13th March to attempt to clear the 10-metre blockage on the village side via the temporary shaft installed back in January. Despite extracting a tanker full of pea gravel and extensive jetting they hit what they fear is a collapse under the crossing arm barrier foundation! At the time of writing this report we await further feedback on what the camera survey found and what the next stage of work will be. The NR engineer did confirm at the meeting that ideally the whole length of the culvert should be relined with the same pipe diameter unlike at the present where there are multiple sizes of culvert and pipe from the village through to the open ditch after the Whistle stop which is not ideal. As soon as there is further clarification, I will post an update on https://tallington.parish.lincolnshire.gov.uk
The 3 remaining blockages identified and marked up by Anglian water at the Mill Lane /Main Road junction, the Gables Main Road and in the second chamber in front of the Old Post Office are yet to be cleared by AW. We await a date for this work.
LCC Highways with the help of the Welland and Deepings drainage board are planning to clear the sections of open ditch towards West Deeping not yet cleared due to road sign obstructions and the volume of traffic sometime in April. This will require a road lane closure. LCC Highways are going to schedule a repair to the partial collapse under Casewick lane later this year, water is though still flowing at the present time out towards the cement works. The installation of new silt collecting gullies on the Main Road by LCC will be rolled out this year after the rail crossing blockage and the AW blockages are cleared.
The priority for the Parish council is to get the whole length of the existing surface water system cleared by AW in conjunction with LCC and NR and working as it should to take water out of the village providing the protection that was missing last January. Water to the north of the village is now flowing away from the village through the cleared field culverts towards Barholm. The whole system has not worked properly for many years through lack of maintenance. Monies for a total replacement of the surface water system through Tallington as originally outlined in the AW survey of July 2018 is still the ambition and funding for this is still actively being pursued with all the agencies.
The Environment agency have for the time being finished the tree clearing work on the river banks of the Maxey cut. We have though brought to their attention two further areas of trees growing in the river banks upstream of the waterfall that they have agreed to look at. The EA will shortly be starting a major survey of the Maxey cut to establish what work might be required to improve the long-term stability of the bank infrastructure over the coming years and develop a business case for any such work. Long term repair of the erosion to the bank downstream unlikely to happen this year. The Temporary repair done last year deemed to be working well.
Anglian water are currently installing seven sewerage water level and quality monitoring sensors throughout the village along the Main Road, Bainton Road and over the crossing.
The replacement heavy duty River flap is still pending awaiting appropriate weather conditions and river levels. Consideration is also being given to a penstock gate valve to block off the culvert during high water levels.
Take care. Philip. Tallington Parish council as at 16th March 2025.