A MULTI-agency meeting will take place to identify the cause of yesterday's flooding which forced many Wirral families to leave their homes for the night.

Up to 100 homes were flooded in Wirral forcing dozens of residents to leave after "a month's rain fell in 48 hours".

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The area's councillor Chris Blakeley today said he was "disappointed" with the response both from Wirral Council and the Environment Agency.

He pressed for a meeting with the town hall's chief officer in charge of environmental protection and flood-prevention, along with executives from the Government agency.

That meeting will now take place, with representatives from Wirral Council, the Environment Agency, United Utilities and the Met Office due to discuss and identify the cause of the flooding.

Wednesday's flooding has been deemed a "significant flood event" by the local authority.

Teams from Biffa - the council’s contractors - are visiting flooded areas and advising residents about the clean-up operation, and are expected to be out in affected areas all day.

The council is also helping to find accommodation for people whose homes are uninhabitable because of flood damage.

The authority is also working with the Environment Agency to organise drop in sessions next week for Moreton residents to discuss flood risk and any support they continue to need.

At the height of the emergency, a number of gulley suckers and pumps were deployed to the worst affected areas to help the waters recede more quickly, and will continue to be used during the recovery.

The council’s contractor Bam Nuttall is still at Whitehouse Lane, Heswall,  and Bromborough Road removing flood water. Those roads remain closed.

While the clean-up takes place, Wirral Council  - along with its partner organisations including the police, fire service and Environment Agency - will continue to assess the likely impact of this week’s significant downpour.

Cllr Bernie Mooney, Wirral’s cabinet member for environment and sustainability, said: "I feel really sorry for everyone affected, and would like to praise residents for their community spirit, and council, agency staff, and emergency services staff for their efforts in what has been a highly unusual but thankfully rare incident.

"It has been a huge operation by the council and other agencies, and we appreciate the efforts of everyone who has worked round the clock to help residents, whether in evacuation operations, transporting residents, control centre and customer support staff or our social services teams helping the vulnerable."

Homes and low-lying land in Moreton were particularly badly affected with some tenants of Magenta Living having to be evacuated from their homes.

Magenta's chief executive Brian Simpson said: "Magenta Living has arranged transport to collect tenants from their overnight accommodation to take them back to their homes to collect anything they may need.

"Accommodation has been booked for a second night for the evacuated tenants and Magenta Living has started the process of inspecting their homes.

"It is not yet possible to say when tenants’ homes will be fit for them to return but Magenta Living will have more information when the inspections are complete.

"Magenta Living is currently carrying out one-to-one interviews with affected tenants to understand their needs and to establish what help, if any, they require."

Other areas affected included Spital Road, Bromborough Road, Millhouse Lane, Moreton, Arrowe Road, Greasby, and Saughall Massie.

Mark Camborne, Wirral’s head of corporate and community safety said: "The recovery operation has now started and we are making every effort to ensure residents have all the help and advice they need to deal with the consequences of the flooding.

"We have staff out cleaning affected roads of debris and sludge and also helping residents with practical advice following the flooding.

"We had robust plans in place to deal with the flooding and worked closely with our partner organisations and the Environment Agency to deal with any issues."

  • Residents/businesses whose homes or buildings were flooded are invited to email the details to: highwayasset@wirral.gov.uk
     
  • Further information and flooding advice is available on the council website here. 

Residents might also find the following information useful:

  • General flooding, or blocked drains or gullies on the highway need to be investigated urgently; residents can do this by reporting on othe council website.

For emergencies outside of normal hours please telephone 0151 647 7810.

To view flood warnings and advice on main rivers and sea visit: https://www.gov.uk/check-if-youre-at-risk-of-flooding