Draining Issue with Council

SHOPKEEPERS in the main street of Scone are tired of mopping up the mess after storms and want an expert to address the drainage issues.

While flooding from storms has always been a feature of the main street, the frequency of water damage has increased since the main street was redone in the 1990’s and possibly due to the change in water courses around the town as it has developed.

The main section of Kelly Street that is impacted is between Liverpool Street and Kingdon Street.

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Libby Robertson has operated Potter Macqueen in Scone for 48 years, knows the main street well and her mother was born in the building she now rents.

“There are photos of water through this shop from 100 years ago,” said Mrs Robertson.

“There have always been storms, but the water coming through is more frequent,” she said.

“With the old road there was really deep drainage, in fact it was probably a bit dangerous, but now there is not enough drainage and there is so much cement, so much more runoff there are not the vacant blocks around that there used to be,” she said.

Jan Sherhan who has also run a retail shop in Kelly Street since the 1970’s agrees something needs to be done.

“There needs to be an expert come in and address it and they shouldn’t leave it any longer,” she said.

“It is not fair on the shop owners to put up with this,” Mrs Sherhan said.

Ian Milgate who has run Hunt-A-Book for 8 years said he has lost count of the number of times his business has had water damage.

“It would be at least 14 or 15 times,” he said.

“The problem in the street starts at the lights and there is a dip in the road out the front here and because there is not enough drainage to cope with it we get flooded,” he said.

“The other frustrating thing is they leave the road open and when trucks come through it causes a wave to go through the shop damaging even more stock,” he said.

“When this happens they need to divert traffic down Main Street, but they need to sort out the drainage in the main street we shouldn’t just be expected to put up with it time and time again,” Mr Milgate said.

Colin Selwood who operates local restaurant the Cottage is also frustrated by the drainage issues.

“This is the second flood we’ve had in the 18 months that we’ve operated,” he said.

“It only came as far as our front verandah, but it washed our garbage away and each time we have to redo the front garden and I feel sorry for the other shops, they can’t just keep closing down to clean up,” he said.

“They need to do something and if they have to dig up the footpath and put down proper sized pipes then they should do that,” he said.

“The weight of our garbages that were washed away shows the force of the water that goes through and the trucks creating waves as they go through the water don’t help,” said Colin Selwood.

Following the flood hedge plants down the driveway of the Cottage were stolen, which Mr Selwood described as a ‘low act’, but he was also grateful for other shop owners who helped get the garbage from the Cottage cleared while he was travelling back to town.

Annie Baker who operates Asser House is also a newcomer to the street, but is worried about ongoing clean-ups if nothing is done.

“Council came and offered me sandbags, which is nice but if the drainage worked properly we wouldn’t need them,” said Ms Baker.

“This is the second time this has happened to us in a year and there just aren’t enough storm water drains,” Annie Baker said.

The responsibility for fixing the drainage is unclear.

The main street is part of the New England Highway which is the responsibility of the Roads and Maritme Services, but if the drainage problem is also due to broader storm water issues in the town, that is Council’s responsibility.

The RMS said they would be happy to investigate, “Roads and Maritime Services would be happy to work with the Upper Hunter Shire Council should it decide to carry out an assessment of the current drainage of the highway.”

Wayne Bedggood the Mayor of the Upper Hunter Shire Council was not available to discuss the matter.