Anger at flooding in Scotgate, Stamford caused by parked cars blocking drains and No Mow May

Business owners have had to put their hands in the drains, and their pockets, after grass cuttings caused severe flooding.

Short storms and spells of torrential rain have interrupted the hot weather in recent weeks.

While most of the time flooding has cleared quickly, for business owners in Scotgate, Stamford the problem has stuck.

The heavy downpours have caused the grass cuttings left by the council after ‘No Mow May’ to travel down the hills of Casterton Road and Empingham Road during the floods and block the drains near the crossroads of Scotgate.

Ian Jarvis, managing director of ACR Computers in Scotgate, feared for his business as he saw the flood water rising and labelled the situation as ‘chaos’.

He said: “I felt panicked because of how close it got.

“Gradually the water was creeping up to my step.

“The best thing I could do was clear the drains and the grass soon came out. If I hadn’t the water would’ve come in.

“Cars were also going by and causing waves.”

Three bin bags full of grass cuttings were collected by Ian and other business owners.

Despite the water not getting in the shop Ian is ‘angry’ as it damaged his wall which is unlikely to be covered by his insurance.

Other business owners in the area have experienced water damage to their shops and the front of the buildings.

Ian is now calling for the council to change its practice.

Grass cutting methods have been cause for heated debates at Stamford Town Council, which is in charge of the verges.

While some councillors believed grass should be collected for environmental reasons, at the time it was decided the council would stick with the cheaper option of cut and mulch.

Town clerk Patricia Stuart-Mogg said: “Because of No Mow May the grass had got long and on the first cut we usually try to get it back down to being short.

“On this occasion, especially down Casterton Road, there were so many parked cars which prevented the grass from being swept away.”

She added that moving to cut and collect would be better but the council has had difficulties finding contractors and have to be ‘careful of costs’.

A team was sent out to Stamford last week to jet and clear the gullies by Lincolnshire County Council, which is responsible for the drain management, after Ian reported the issue.

However, cars were parked over them again blocking access and preventing them to be cleared.

The team faced a similar issue when they visited Scotgate on April 14 and 17 but because cars were parked over some of the drains on both occasions, there remained a few which hadn’t been cleaned.

The council is considering writing letters to ask people not to park there so the drains can be cleared.