Report a blocked drain or gully

Gullies and other road drains allow surface water to drain off the road or footpath. The gullies can become blocked by fallen leaves, other rubbish and tree roots. When they block any surface water on the road or pavement is unable to clear properly. This can lead to large puddles and even flooding of the road.

We carry out maintenance on our gullies by operating a system of scheduled and emergency gully cleansing. In times of high leaf fall, we also attempt to keep the roads clear of leaves blocking the gullies, but problems can still occur.  Once we receive a report of a problem we will add it to our inspection schedule. Response times will vary depending on the location and size of the problem.

There are a number of reasons why gullies can stop working and we are always grateful for help in identifying problem gullies. Autumn is the busiest time of year for our Highways Teams as it is often difficult to keep on top of the leaf fall.

Once they have been reported, each one will be prioritised i.e. a gully in a low spot, which if blocked may cause flooding to property, will have a higher priority than one where water runs on past a gully and then enters the next gully and gets away.