Council work could have alleviated flooding misery in Calder Valley - Yorkshire Post letters

In the Calder Valley water runs off the moors and pauses on its downward journey on the roads of local villages, threatening roadside dwellings with flooding.

Boris Johnson missing in action as Storm Dennis causes flooding misery: The Yorkshire Post says

Council officers and councillors are aware of this but each time floodwater threatens these dwellings, the problem remains because the bunged-up roadside grates need dredging!

In our village, as in other Calderdale villages, residents turn out to help one another to alleviate the distress threatened by floodwater.

It is a fine example of goodwill, but this threat would be hugely diminished if much or most of the water could escape via the routes intended.

Residents high on the valley sides have a great deal of sympathy for the communities of Hebden Bridge, Mytholmroyd and elsewhere and apologise for having to pass additional floodwater.

Housebuilding plans for flood-hit parts of Calderdale are plain daft: Yorkshire Post Letters

However, if Calderdale councillors paid more heed to what should be a logical operation, much less water would add to the despair of residents of our valleys.

From: Mike Holt, Rodley.

Tony Johnson’s picture of flooding at Kirkstall Bridge (The Yorkshire Post, February 17) highlights a short sighted decision when the Aire Valley Railway was electrified back in the 1990s.

Instead of raising the bridge, the powers that be decided in their wisdom to lower the tracks for the clearance required of the overhead wires underneath. This has resulted in the trackbed being at a level that is not much higher than normal water level in the river alongside, as the picture shows.

Hence, any rainfall in the upper dales above regular ‘showers’ results in flooding at Kirkstall, and trains being cancelled ever since.

The Victorian Engineers certainly did their homework when designing the Aire Valley Railway and the required trackbed levels.

We’re drowning Prime Minister; act now over flooding emergency – The Yorkshire Post says

From: John Van der Gucht, Cross Hills, North Yorkshire.

The severity and regularity of serious flooding may well be as a result of global warning, no doubt the science will confirm it.

The Prime Minister is in the spotlight because of his feeble response. Nobody expects him to roll his sleeves up and start filling sandbags, but he needs to be seen showing interest and concern, plus it would give him a personal perspective.