BARNSLEY Council has come under fire over blocked road gulleys at Silkstone.
Parish councillors say it is ‘a miracle’ the village has not been flooded or the scene of a major accident in recent heavy rain.
They rubbished claims that gulleys can’t be cleared without road closures and they now plan to step up efforts to hold the borough authority to account.
Coun Richard Leech told Monday’s meeting of the parish council: “How we have not been flooded or seen a serious accident is a miracle. The gulleys on the A628 are not being cleared even though we raise this on a regular basis.”
Month after month, Coun Leech flags up the issue of blocked gulleys along the main road through the area.
Now he is suggesting a Freedom of Information request to thrash out the problem.
“We need to see when gulley-clearing work was last done or just what Barnsley’s responsibility is,” he said. “This is a trunk road after all and to say they can’t clear gulleys without closing the road is rubbish. Something needs to be done or there is going to be big trouble.
“The gulleys are completely silted up.”
Coun Ron Stier said ward councillor Robert Barnard had been looking into the matter.
But chairman Meryl Liddell added: “I think he gets the same answers that we do - that the work would need a road closure.”
Coun Stier said gulleys at Ben Bank Road were also in an ‘atrocious’ condition. “What is Barnsley Council doing?” he asked. “It will cause a major accident if not dealt with.”
He also said there had been major problems at the sports pavilion with water getting into changing rooms, toilets and corridor. “It is a while since we had a situation such as this,” he said.
Coun Liddell said: “February was such an unusually wet month. We need to keep an eye on this. It has been dire.”
