Please be aware that across the County there are a large number of closed roads and flooded areas. In our area the A691 Durham to Witton Gilbert and the B6532 from Fram Moor to Sacriston are flooded in a number of places and only passable with care. There is also flooding on Potterhouse Lane and I would urge people not to drive this way.
Teams have been out in Witton Gilbert to assist in clearing water at the White Tun which so far is not as bad as last time, and I have also been to Brasside where water is pouring off the farmers field again behind Beech Close.
Any problems call the Highways Action Line on 01913706000, if you don’t get anywhere call me on 07500125325 or 01913725866. Take care driving and don;t go out unless you have to.
Here is the latest update from the County Council:
As you know, we have had a period of exceptionally wet weather over the weekend, which resulted in flood alerts for the lower River Wear from Escomb to Chester-le-Street, several road closures throughout the county and flooding to a small number of properties in the Wingate area.
Overnight, we have had another 10-30mm and the latest forecast is that this is set to continue for the next 18 hours or so. The Met Office forecasts persistent rain (heavy at times) throughout the day, with another 20-40mm on top of what’s already fallen. The rain will continue all evening, but will begin to move away slowly during the second half of Monday night and should be gone by first light tomorrow (Tuesday).
An amber weather warning is in force for heavy rain for Durham and Darlington and parts of Cleveland so the current problems with surface water flooding are set to continue for at least the next 24 hours.
As at 8.30am this morning, the following roads were affected by flooding:
Road closures
A688 Bishop Auckland (in vicinity of football ground).
A690 Willington to Crook
C95 Whitworth Lane Page Bank
Roads affected by flooding
A694 Hamsterly Mill.
Unc Gill Street Consett-Now Clear.
C12 Holmhill Lane Plawsworth
A167 Rushyford to Newton Aycliffe
A68 Witton By-Pass
A689 Rushyford to Bradbury
A689 Harperley to Wolsingham
A688N Watling Road Bishop Auckland
A6072 South Church Road Bishop Auckland
A67 Barnard Castle
B6286 Hunwick Village
B6286 Hunwick to Sunnybrow Willington
B6286 Hunwick to Toronto
B1278 Fishburn to Trimdon Grange
B6299 Willington to Stanley Crook
C66 Trimdon to Trimdon Colliery
C38 Bradbury
B6296 Wolsingham to Tow Law
C35 Middridge to Rushyford
C34 Eldon Bishop Auckland
C21 Rookhope Road
Unc 34.10 North Bitchburn
In addition to the above, there are issues with standing water on roads throughout the county.
Over the weekend, three emergency action teams, four gully tankers, eight highway inspectors and street scene teams were mobilised to deal with local issues including the issue of around 500 sandbags. We will continue to monitor conditions throughout the day and will deploy resources accordingly.
We are also closely monitoring the volume of calls into our call centres and will increase capacity to handle additional calls if required.
At this stage, we have not had to call Bronze command but are ready to move to the next level of emergency planning if the situation worsens and the need arises.
In terms of numbers, you can use to assist local residents, for highways issues, including surface water flooding on the roads, blocked drains in the highway etc, people should call the Highways Action Line on 0191 370 6000.
For sandbag requests where properties are at risk of flooding, people should also call 03000 261000.
And as always, for emergencies, where properties have been flooded and lives are at risk, people should call the emergency services on 999.
Thankfully, the medium term forecast is that the weather will improve during tomorrow and the rest of the week, with a mixture of some sunshine and scattered showers. It is forecast to turn colder but it will at least be drier than it has over the last 48 hours.
I trust you have found this briefing helpful and we will issue further updates during the course of the day if the need arises.