Oakley Green, Fifield and District Community Association Ltd
Environment
Drainage update 23 - 17.04.2017

The last time the Drainage Summary was updated on was more than a year ago in the first week of March 2016. So it's time to have a look at what the current situation is with our "wet spots". We have enjoyed a remarkably dry winter so the traditional problems have not been as dire as usual. For most of our 9 "wet spots" there has been no progress at all to report but here is a brief summary of each.

1 - The Cricket Club on Oakley Green Road - we are awaiting Streetcare proposals to attempt to delay water arriving at this point as well as to expedite its onward flow under the road, round the pitch, and away.

2 - Fifield Road speed bump near Longlea Nursing Home - we had some success and Streetcare cooperated by clearing this ditch in February 2014 but we have returned this to RED status as nobody is maintaining the ditch in working order so problems will very soon return.

3 - Braywood Lodge on Oakley Green Road - we carried out some work here in 2011. This site has AMBER status while we wait to observe what happens during the next really wet season.

4 - The Coningsby Lane Shambles - we have been trying to put in place a simple scheme to provide an escape route for water since 2001 ... in vain. But in early summer 2016 a meeting was held with Streetcare, Cllrs Dudley and Coppinger, and OGAFCA, at which it was agreed that the project would proceed and budget was available. A date for the work was set for late October 2016. Nearly a year after that meeting and 6 months after the work was due to be done nothing has happened. Streetcare have passed the task over to consultants and have called on the aid of Greater Crested Newts to justify more delay while environmental assessments evaluate if measures need to be taken or not ! We are still waiting, and the budget that was available has probably been lost now we are entering a new financial year.

5 - Field entrance on Oakley Green Road near Forest Farm - an apparent success as a result of work carried out by Streetcare at our recommendation. This location has a GREEN status.

6 - Ledger Farm and the Junction of Coningsby Lane south and Forest Green Road - no progress here. This will flood again ... repeatedly.

7 - The Fifield Inn and Fifield Road northwards past Pond House and south of Stewart Close - an apparent success here. This location has a GREEN status thanks to much cooperation from Streetcare and a lot of useful work to install a new pipe and clear the escape route eastwards.

8 - Fifield Road culvert, just south of Coningsby Lane - no progress here. This will flood again and it's difficult to see what can be done short of installing a major storm drain heading north under the road to relieve the "Fifield tube" generally.

9 - Greene Oak pub and Cardinal Clinic - no progress here. It would need a major investment project to achieve some sort of alleviation. OGAFCA has suggested that the Cardinal Clinic might achieve some benefit from diverting the water flowing onto their site and delay inundation by holding as much as possible on some unused land area.

In addition to our "wet spots" we were struggling for much of last year to encourage some common sense over the proposed location of the Phoenix Gym. In September 2016 document 667769-REP-SBU-DS was submitted by Phoenix as another attempt to clear Planning Application condition 6. This document was woefully lacking in any kind of data describing the holding capacity of the new SUDS scheme so OGAFCA was obliged to create a 3D digital model of the scheme to understand the implications. When we submitted this 3 page document and covering letter as our response in October 2016 the Phoenix submission was withdrawn. In recent weeks there has been local press coverage of fund raising activity by Phoenix presented in a way that suggests Planning has been approved and all that is necessary is for large amounts of money to be donated for the project to proceed. As far as we know there have been no further submissions to satisfy condition 6 so in fact Planning has NOT been approved. Does this constitute raising money under false pretences ?