Frustrated East Grinstead residents call for action after sharing videos of gardens ‘under water’ after flooding

Caroline Nodder, who represents the group in Morton Road, wrote to Mid Sussex District Council on Monday, January 6, to say the gardens of numbers 7 to 21 were ‘under water’.

Caroline said the flooding happened during the recent heavy rain and residents believe flooding has been made worse by work on a nearby development.

She told this newspaper: “Our back gardens were under about half a foot of water for four or five days.”

Caroline said: “It’s a quagmire now. It’s incredibly muddy. My lawn’s gone and it’s going to recur as soon as it rains again.”

She continued: “Our area has a problem as we’re on a seam of solid clay so water doesn't drain away. It runs off, and the site is up the hill from the back gardens on Morton Road.”

She said the clay makes the water come straight down the hill towards them and has shared videos from other residents showing water coming into their gardens.

Caroline said: “It was almost like a river was flowing through three of our gardens.”

She said residents are particularly frustrated because the nearby development was approved in November 2023 and residents warned the council for years about potential flooding.

She said the removal of trees, hedgerow and shrubs from the site in late 2024 made this kind of flooding more likely. Caroline explained: “When it rained all of this vegetation was sucking up hundreds of litres of water and preventing that from coming down the hill.”

Caroline said residents think flooding will happen again during the rain next week and she is calling for action to solve the problem soon. She said: “I would want the developer to make some temporary provision for drainage with some pipework on the southern boundary or some trenches taking the water away.”

She added that she has been disappointed by the council’s response so far, saying: “It fails to take account of everything we've said all the way along the line.”

A council spokesperson told this newspaper: “Mid Sussex District Council is aware of the issues raised and has provided a detailed written response to each of the concerns. We have also engaged directly with the developer’s land agent to ensure interim measures are put in place to manage surface water across the site. All planning applications are carefully considered based on representations from various consultees and expert advisors, including flooding and drainage experts. For Morton Road, the granting of planning permission included a number of conditions being imposed. These are carefully discharged as required by the planning committee at the relevant stage of development.”