Cleasby village North Yorkshire has issues with flooding

The village of Cleasby, near Darlington, has undergone severe issues with flooding - which has seen villagers at the end of their tether with the lack of action from the council and highways in North Yorkshire. 

According to those who live there, inches of water take over roads and residents have to monitor the water levels each time rainfall happens, while businesses have also been affected by this issue.

But council transport bosses have said that the complexity of the situation on solving the flooding issues has meant that work has been delayed. 

The flooding in Cleasby village (Image: DAVID CARTER) David Carter, who is the acting chairperson at the village hall in Cleasby, has seen first-hand the impact of flooding issues - claiming that the problems are the "death of organising anything" in the community, in case it has to be cancelled, due to rainy weather. 

This includes dozens of events at Cleasby Village Hall, which have had to be cancelled, which comes at a financial loss to the hall and organisers of the events. 

Mr Carter, who says that a £170 collective bill has been racked up for all of the events that haven't gone ahead, says this "won't break the bank," but has urged North Yorkshire Council and its highways department for help in the matter.

The extent of the flooding in Cleasby (Image: DAVID CARTER) He said: "As soon as it rains, you can guarantee that the drains and roads will overflow and it will mean that yet another event has to be cancelled. 

"Going back around a year, a local farmer cleared the drains and all was okay again - but we now think there needs to be more done than people from the village cleaning the drain - there needs to be proper action. 

"In the build-up to events, there's always a little bit of hesitance just in case it can't go ahead. 

"Everyone has been in touch with the council and highways but we're no further onward."

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It's believed that the issues with the flooding stem from two culvert drains being blocked - with the most recent flooding issue coming on September 30, which saw the hall have three cancellations in one week.

The number of cancellations at the hall is 15 now since last November.

Mr Carter added: "It is difficult organising anything for the hall or the church as they may be cancelled at any moment should it rain just previous to the event

"It takes hours for the water to drain away before anyone can enter the village to use the hall or the church."

Flooding in Cleasby (Image: DAVID CARTER) Alongside the concerns of villagers, Stapleton and Cleasby Parish Council have also expressed its disappointment at the lack of speed - with councillor Karen Webster, noting that cars can't move within the village whenever it rains, due to the floodwater.

Cllr Webster said: "The lack of action on this flooding needs a solution. The only parking in Cleasby is on the road and people can't park if the road is underwater. 

"While I think the issues come from the drains - I think there is something to be said about the increase in traffic from the solar farm, which has popped up near the village. 

"An increase in traffic means that the road can't cope as it is, let alone when it floods."

In response to the issues in Cleasby, North Yorkshire Council say they "appreciate" the frustration of villagers - but say they are working on completing work in the village soon. 

North Yorkshire Council’s executive member for highways and transport, Cllr Keane Duncan, said: “We were alerted to flooding on the public bridleway known as Chapel Lane in Cleasby in December last year, which results in water running onto nearby roads.

“We appreciate the frustration that villagers have, but unfortunately this has proved a very complex project.

“When we inspected the site, we found that the drainage ditch along the bridleway needed dredging to improve water flow and reduce the chance of flooding."

Mr Keane added: “Our aim was to carry out this work in May. However, we faced problems with sewage flowing into the ditch which needed to be fixed before we could dredge it.

“We have worked with the water company, and this has been resolved. We are now liaising with our contractor to reschedule the works as soon as possible and will keep the public updated.

“Once the dredging work has been completed the gullies in the area will be cleaned and we will continue to monitor the area.”