I’m sure the roads in Strathpeffer are not unique in having so many blocked drains, but it does seem to me, that one-out-of-three are clogged up in the village. The three drains that worry me the most (that sounds like a line from American Pie) are the ones on the A834 just up the hill from the junction with the old Station. The top one of these, at the corner of Ardival court, has been blocked since that junction was resurfaced which must be almost two years ago now, it obviously was out of the remit of the team that resurfaced the road to clear the drain at the same time.
The monsoon season in the Highlands has already started, and if a slow moving thunderstorm decides to give us a visit with an hour or so of torrential rain, these three consecutive drains are important in preventing the worst of any flash flooding that cascades down the A834 to flood the old Station. I know from bitter experience that this has happened in three out of the last four summers.
I realise that this might seem like a trivial matter to some people, especially when compared to the state of the roads and the ongoing pylon issue, but as a dutiful Council Tax payer, I believe Highland Council have a duty of care to the residents of Strathpeffer and any other Highland town or village, to do a little preventative maintenance once in a while, to help mitigate the worst if another flash flood event occurs again this year.
I’ve reported the problem via the Mygov.scot website to the Highland Council and the case reference is FS-Case-514262367. Hopefully they will get around to clearing these gullies before there’s a repeat of the flash flooding this year.
We were grateful that Highland Council finally raised the kerb at the gate to our home late last year. They placed pieces of Achilty stone in an effort to raise the kerb height and prevent the worst of any flooding coming directly down the steps, unfortunately this will not prevent flood waters funnelling down to the hill to the old station and car park, or spouting through holes in the old stone dyke, but beggars can’t be choosers, as they say.
Have you tried to involve your councillor to have pressure exerted at that level? Also the Community Coin IL can be another voice. The station area is vulnerable to flood water from a large area and deserves some special if simple protective measures
I find our local councillor to be disinterested in such things as the state of the roads, drains and speed of the traffic.
We’ve fought tooth and nail with the roads department for the last four years to get something done about raising the height of the kerb to prevent flooding, and we did that with little help from either our councillor or the Community Council.
If it wasn’t for a campaign about speeding that I ran on this website two years ago we wouldn’t have the Vehicle Activated Speed [VASVAS Vehicle activated signs (VAS) are a useful and cost-effective road safety intervention. They light up to warn drivers of hazards or to remind them of the speed limit if they are approaching too fast.] signs, even if they are sited more to reduce the speed of traffic in the Square, and not on the approach to the junction of the old Station.
The council is in melt down, and many of the basic services it onced provided such as road sweeping, drain emptying and road repairs, have been severely reduced.
I’m sure that many other villagers feel the same as we do, even if we are newcomers.
Keep the pressure on – the only way to get results!