The Council operates a programme of road sweeping, gully inspection and drainage maintenance across residential areas, main roads, industrial estates, dual carriageways and back lanes to help maintain the road network, improve environmental quality and reduce the risk of localised flooding. Roads within housing estates are typically swept once every three months, with cleansing works covering kerbs and channels, parking bays, medians, hard surfaces and planted areas.

As part of this programme, gullies are inspected and cleaned using specialist equipment to remove silt, debris, leaves and vegetation. Following cleaning, gullies are tested to ensure they are functioning correctly, with blocked connections flushed and jetted where necessary. In general, gullies within residential areas are cleaned and inspected on an annual basis, while locations identified as being at greater risk of flooding may be inspected and cleaned more frequently based on operational requirements and risk assessments.

A dedicated leaf clearance programme runs from September to January each year targeting leaf accumulations on roads, kerbs, channels, gullies, verges, footpaths and cycle tracks. We process between 1,100 and 1,200 leaf clearance requests annually, reflecting the effect of seasonal leaf fall can have on drainage infrastructure and gully performance.

In addition to the routine gully cleansing programme, the Natural Water team is responsible for the management and maintenance of over 950km of stormwater drainage network, with the network continuing to expand as new developments are taken in charge. A fixed cleansing cycle for all assets is impractical; work is prioritised using inspections, reports, operational experience and identified deficiencies.

This targeted risk-based approach focuses resources on locations with past flooding, known drainage problems or an identified need for intervention, supporting the effective operation of the County’s stormwater network.