Purpose

The City of Doncaster Council (CDC), as the statutory Highway Authority, has a legal responsibility to ensure that the public highway remains safe for all users under the Highways Act 1980. When sections of the network become flooded, CDC is required to intervene to prevent significant risks to motorists and pedestrians, including vehicle loss, collisions, and individuals becoming stranded. In recent years, during multiple heavy rainfall events, CDC has repeatedly deployed operational teams to temporarily close affected roads and station a jetting tanker on site for extended periods to remove surface water. This reactive arrangement has been essential to maintain public safety, but it places considerable strain on limited resources.
The repeated deployment of tankers to a single high-risk location represents an inefficient use of a critical asset, particularly during severe weather when the Council must meet its statutory duties under the Flood and Water Management Act 2010. With only a small fleet of tankers available, dedicating one unit for an entire day restricts the authority’s ability to manage other drainage emergencies or deliver urgent flood-risk mitigation across the wider network. This conflicts with the requirement for local authorities to take a risk-based, proportionate, and resilient approach to flood event response and infrastructure management.

Decision

To approve an additional £181k funding to deliver the Doncaster Road, High Melton flood scheme. The additional funding required would consist of a £42k contribution from the Flood Resilience earmarked reserve, £50k revenue contribution from EN024 and £89k additional capital corporate resource.

Alternative options considered

The current road closure operations and resource deployment have been adequate for many years, but the increased frequency of flooding caused by climate change requires adjustment of this process. The project will improve safety and minimise the frequency with which the LLFA responds to emergency situations. Costs associated with temporary road closures include staff on standby, increased staff from other departments to check closures and provide 'back up' or reinstatement of road closures, contract traffic management teams, unnecessary deployment and loss of road closure equipment.
The original drainage system discharged directly into an adjacent agricultural field and appeared to outfall into an old irrigation well. Over many years, continuous ploughing and intensive use of the arable land caused substantial damage to the existing 100 mm diameter pipework. A series of assessments were undertaken to determine whether reinstating the existing network was a viable option. However, as no definitive outfall location could be confirmed, the landowner expressed understandable concerns regarding the potential for flooding on his property if highway surface water continued to be conveyed through his land.
An alternative solution explored was the installation of a new surface water attenuation pond within the farmer’s land, either through land purchase or compulsory acquisition. Both options were ultimately deemed unfeasible. The landowner was unwilling to sell or relinquish any portion of his field, and the legal, financial, and time implications associated with compulsory purchase made this approach impractical for the scope and urgency of the project