District hit by floods after heavy rain

11:17am Friday 6th July 2012 in Bradford By Michael Black

Flooding at Shipley Flooding at Shipley

There are reports of flooding in parts of the Bradford district following this morning's heavy rain.

The road which leads to MB motors, in Shipley, off Leeds Road, is among those affected after the nearby river burst its banks.

Major flooding was reported on the moors today between Bingley and Menston with speeds on many of the district’s roads reduced to just 20mph.

In Bradford city centre channels of rainwater swept down roadsides while pedestrians dodged huge sprays of water from passing traffic.

The unrelenting deluge saw the fifth annual Born in Bradford (BiB) teddy bears' picnic at Lister Park cancelled.

Thousands of disappointed ticket holders due to head to MFest at Harewood House this weekend have now been promised their money back after the festival was abandoned.

An extreme weather warning issued by the Met Office meant the public’s health and safety was of “paramount concern” said its organisers who added it would have been “irresponsible” to continue - stars due to have gone on stage include Bob Geldof, Cher Lloyd and The Human League.

The rains have also put pay to Yeadon Carnival after its field was left looking more like a paddy field than a carnival site.

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Carnival committee chairman and councillor Nigel Francis said: “The whole of Yeadon looks forward to this day, but after the heavy rains the field was more suited to planting rice than staging a carnival. “We felt that not only would the field cut up very badly, but there was the added danger that someone could slip, and break a leg or worse still, when you are putting 100 plus vehicles onto a very wet field, there is the danger of skidding and some child or adult been killed.”

Now the committee is looking at the possibility of putting it on in the Town Hall on Saturday, July 21 and urging everyone to look out for flyers. “This cancellation has cost us over £1,000 and we desperately need funding for next year . We can hope that our City Councillors will look favourably next year and make us a grant, otherwise we will be in big trouble.”

Wrose Carnival that should have been held over two-days for the first time in its history this weekend will now be at Eccleshill Football Club after Wrose Recreation Ground got too water-logged.

West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service is urging people at risk of flooding to think ahead.

Please take note of the following advice: •Turn off electrical items if you are at immediate risk of being flooded and be prepared for power cuts. However, avoid using candles and other open flames as this poses a further risk

•Move valuables upstairs if possible •Prepare an emergency kit bag in case of evacuation

•To find out the latest advice and information listen to local radio or television stations. Go in, stay in, tune in!

Comments(21)

theoutsider says...
1:02pm Fri 6 Jul 12

All this wa'tter and guess what ? Council chumps build a bleeding Wa'tter Park outside T'rn hall ! give me strength !!!

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yangyeight says...
1:05pm Fri 6 Jul 12

the road that leads to mb motors?
blatant advertising or what!!
mb motors, michael black story?
same initials? Mmm?
anyway back to what i wanted to say,
maybe if the drains were kept clear water could escape?
fu-ck this weather, cheap deal to majorca i think!!

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GC BD4 says...
1:37pm Fri 6 Jul 12

yangyeight wrote:
the road that leads to mb motors?
blatant advertising or what!!
mb motors, michael black story?
same initials? Mmm?
anyway back to what i wanted to say,
maybe if the drains were kept clear water could escape?
fu-ck this weather, cheap deal to majorca i think!!
I agree, if Local Authorities were to maintain regular gully cleaning (drain holes to some folk ) then water will able to run down, as it is rain water at moment is cascading over all gullies. Also along with environment agency and yorkshire water to ensure that all water courses are kept debris free this will stop local becks overflowing. For manpower use people on community service
( they seem to have an easy life ). It is a must that the council should keep up maintainance of road side gulleys. I've seen them once a year on my street, needs doing 4/5 times a year.

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mad matt says...
2:05pm Fri 6 Jul 12

There are two blocked gullies on our street - been blocked for years and reported to the council time and time again but nowt ever gets done!

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Thee Voice of Reason says...
2:16pm Fri 6 Jul 12

I've just driven past parts of Silsden that the council want to build houses on.

If your thinking of buying one of these be sure to request a free wetsuit with your purchase.

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BoomBoom POW says...
2:21pm Fri 6 Jul 12

Thee Voice of Reason wrote:
I've just driven past parts of Silsden that the council want to build houses on. If your thinking of buying one of these be sure to request a free wetsuit with your purchase.
The majority of that area is buillt on land that is prone to flooding... including airedale hospital. But they have flood barriers in places which work. To my knowledge the residential areas have never flooded.

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Thee Voice of Reason says...
2:23pm Fri 6 Jul 12

BoomBoom POW wrote:
Thee Voice of Reason wrote: I've just driven past parts of Silsden that the council want to build houses on. If your thinking of buying one of these be sure to request a free wetsuit with your purchase.
The majority of that area is buillt on land that is prone to flooding... including airedale hospital. But they have flood barriers in places which work. To my knowledge the residential areas have never flooded.
These would be new developments, and some developments down there have flooded before.

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DCarbz says...
3:33pm Fri 6 Jul 12

Most if not all the fields between the canal and Aire Valley Road in Silsden are prone to flooding. The Kingfisher development flooded about 3 - 4 years ago but given that it is only about 24" above Cobbydale beck as it runs under the canal it is hardly any surprise really.

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DCarbz says...
3:34pm Fri 6 Jul 12

Most if not all the fields between the canal and Aire Valley Road in Silsden are prone to flooding. The Kingfisher development flooded about 3 - 4 years ago but given that it is only about 24" above Cobbydale beck as it runs under the canal it is hardly any surprise really.

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goodluke.06 says...
3:36pm Fri 6 Jul 12

If the drains and grates in Bradford, and in the UK in general were cleaned more than once a decade as they usually are or not at all, the water would have somewhere to go. But of course the government won't do this because they don't have to pay for the damage caused. The insurance companies pay for the damage and we pay the insurance companies, therefore why would they spend they spend the money they collect in taxes on cleaning grates when it's the pubic who has to foot the bill and not them. When my mother was a child there was rain like this and never flooding on this scale, at this time the grates and drains were cleaned regularly as well, somehow I don't think this is a coincidence!

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BigFigure says...
4:52pm Fri 6 Jul 12

I blame our feckless council for all flooding everywhere,what have they done to alter the course of the jet stream over the UK? Nowt,as usual. Our glorious City Forefathers will be turning in their (watery) graves

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damraf says...
4:55pm Fri 6 Jul 12

Bradford council employs 2 gully teams, they used to be 4 teams working 4 on 4 off but because of the cut backs they have been reduced. If everyone is willing to pay more council tax I am sure the council will restore the service. The lads have been working hard clearing blocked gullies but if people did not pour fat or put nappies etc down the drains more might be unblocked. Every time I have reported a block gully it has been cleared in a reasonable time.

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Steve30d says...
5:29pm Fri 6 Jul 12

theoutsider wrote:
All this wa'tter and guess what ? Council chumps build a bleeding Wa'tter Park outside T'rn hall ! give me strength !!!
haven't been down there recently,but has the water level in the puddle gone up much since this rain started? Why I ask is I suspect part of the idea was for it to intercept peak flows and average them out into the Bradford beck to reduce flooding on Canal road and Shipley. Just hope sewers further up the catchment area can cope. Didn't UK parliament have to move elsewhere during the Great Sink of 1858?

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Get back to work says...
6:14pm Fri 6 Jul 12

mad matt wrote:
There are two blocked gullies on our street - been blocked for years and reported to the council time and time again but nowt ever gets done!
The council cant respond to every complaint immediately , im sure once they`ve finished cutting the 2ft grass reported last week at the traffic lights on GT Horton Rd , they will be around to clear the 2 blocked gullies .

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stevion12 says...
6:24pm Fri 6 Jul 12

Get back to work wrote:
mad matt wrote:
There are two blocked gullies on our street - been blocked for years and reported to the council time and time again but nowt ever gets done!
The council cant respond to every complaint immediately , im sure once they`ve finished cutting the 2ft grass reported last week at the traffic lights on GT Horton Rd , they will be around to clear the 2 blocked gullies .
well good news the grass has been cut around great Horten it has, so getting there with it, might take a while tho, but yea if they kept the drains clean it won't flood and the waters got somewhere to go then.

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tyker2 says...
6:21am Sat 7 Jul 12

DOUBLE RAIN IN APRIL AND IN JUNE but there are still areas still officially in drought.

Why officially? Because the officials have been fighting floods and have had no time to lift the drought orders. Crazy, crazy world we live in!!

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puddingandpi says...
6:58am Sat 7 Jul 12

Now just hang on, tyker2. I know it sounds daft that with all this rain & flooding there's a drought order & a hosepipe ban, but this water is too late. It needs to seep down to the aquifers, so we should be ok next summer, but we needed it to fall over last winter.
People shouldn't block the drains & sewers with baby-wipes, cooking fat, corpses & sanitary towels, and before people have a go at the council - the council did not block them. The "council tax payers" (which includes all the council workers, incidentally) are the people who blocked them.
Also, more & more people are concreting over their gardens for parking & that makes a huge difference, even if you think it wouldn't.
Anyway, as an ex-pat tyke, living here Dahn Sarf, I think you should bottle it all up & flog to the drought stricken residents of the south east for a fortune.

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MontyLeMar says...
9:22am Sat 7 Jul 12

mad matt wrote:
There are two blocked gullies on our street - been blocked for years and reported to the council time and time again but nowt ever gets done!
I agree blocked gullies contribute to the flooding but sometimes car owners are their own worst enemies. Parked cars make it nearly impossible for the cleaners to get anywhere near the drains. Gets more expensive if it has to be done on quiet days at the weekend. But I walked down Westfield Lane Wrose the other (rainy) day and most of the drains are blocked - you can tell they're blocked by the way the water flows over the grate instead of down into the grate! But hey, there's so much water the river and sewage system couldn't cope anyway.

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khalidmalikbadass says...
2:18am Sun 8 Jul 12

this only happens in britain u know in india it rains 10 x harder than here and the rain just drain away no problems,in britain u pay 10x more tax then get told to not use hose pipes even when there fllods? it a rubbish robbing country

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a reasonable sort of chap says...
12:00pm Sun 8 Jul 12

The water-bearer is pouring forth his pitcher, as we stand at the zenith of Midsummer 2012, the dawning of the Age of Aquarius. That is the reason for all this water!

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Apollo says...
9:47am Mon 9 Jul 12

Anyone parking on those places in Shipley who knew the weather forecast deserves what happened to their cars.

The area has 'history' when sudden heavy downpours are forecast.

If you park next to a beck which floods it really cannot be a surprise when it actually does.

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