TOWN centre businesses continue to be flooded and hit with thousands of pounds worth of damage - despite a £2.5m highways improvement scheme.

Traders around Tangier Street and Bransty Row in Whitehaven have spoken out after the road was flooded earlier this month during heavy rainfall.  

Cumbria County Council delivered the Bransty Row improvement scheme between 2019 and 2021 in an overhaul of the main entrance into the town.

Works included introducing traffic lights, enhancing the road junction at Tangier Street and George Street and relocating and increasing the provision for taxis.

But business owners feel that flood mitigation measures should have been included in the works and say that flooding of the road, which has been a problem for years, is now getting worse.

Mark Johnson, co-owner of Club 135 on Tangier Street, said flooding has cost the business thousands of pounds worth of damage in the last few years.

He said: “It’s a nightmare for us. Our office is underground. It floods every single time there’s high rainfall.

“We have lost thousands of pounds worth of office equipment. It just leaks in. Sometimes it can take four hours for it to drain away.

“The bottom end near The Waverley was biblical. You would think it would have been taken care of. The flooding needs sorted.”

Paul McGlennon, owner of Sportzone on Tangier Street, said his shop had flooded a few weeks ago during a period of heavy rainfall.

He said: “It was pretty bad. The Saturday morning we had to get some sandbags delivered.

“We got about five foot of water on the carpet. When a car comes through it sends a wave into my shop. Because of the angle of the road, it’s just lapping at my door.

“I think it’s getting worse, the flooding, since the road was dug up. We seem to be flooding a lot more.

“I think the drains are cleaned a lot less than they used to be. To be fair, the county council were here at half 9 on Monday morning cleaning out the drains.

“I’m not sure if it’s a case of blocked drains or something is amiss.”

Michael Delaney, manager of The Snecklifter on Duke Street, said: “The drainage is horrific on the street [Tangier Street]. It doesn’t seem to be substantial enough for it to handle the amount of rainfall that comes down.

“It floods every year. This has gone on for years and you’d think they’d put something in place because it’s not fair on the pubs.”

Paul Armstrong, owner of Cumbria Tackle and Guns on George Street, said: “I just find it hard to understand that after months of disruption to the public and businesses they couldn't address a problem that was there for all to see.

“Businesses continue to be flooded every time we get significant amounts of rain.”

A Cumbria County Council spokesperson said: “The county council apologises for any inconvenience this has caused, after investigating the problem, has discovered that the localised flooding in this area was due to the severe weather conditions and gullies being covered with leaves (the leaves possibly have washed down from New Road).

“The Highways Team cleared the leaves from the gullies, and the problem was resolved. The team is also planning to clean the gullies to assist with the problem.

“We are working with colleagues from Copeland Borough Council, which is responsible for sweeping roads.

“Residents are encouraged to contact our website if they have any problems.”

Shirley Procter-Dow, Copeland Council's community services manager, said: “This area is swept, at least weekly, by our road-sweepers, and it is monitored daily for leaf fall and other debris.

“We are happy to work with the county council to confirm what might be causing the issue.”

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