A CALLINGTON councillor has made a plea to Cornwall Council to take immediate action to protect properties from flooding along one of the major commuter routes in the Tamar Valley.

Andrew Long, Cornwall Council representative for Callington, made the call after concerned residents were forced to put sand bags around their doors once again when the A388 between Callington and Kelly Bray flooded over Christmas and the New Year.

The stretch of the A388 primarily affected lies between Isacombe Oaks and Isacombe House, the road itself being a major commuter route through East Cornwall to Plymouth.

The water running down from Kit Hill is supposed to run through a tunnel underneath the main road and emerge further down the valley, however strong torrents caused by heavy rainfall often bring stones and rocks with it, blocking up the culvert and forcing the running water up through a drain onto the road, causing it to flood, said the councillor.

‘This has been an ongoing issue for a few years but the intensity of rainfall which has increased because of climate change has resulted in the water coming down from Kit Hill being too much for the drainage underneath the A388,’ said Cllr Long, ‘I have requested the Asset Management team to come up with a solution but this needs to be sooner rather than later. The residents to the west of the road at Isacombe are living in constant fear of the next downpour and the impact on their properties from flooding. Things cannot continue like this.’

Asset Management are above the Highways Agency; they are currently looking to implement a solution but no firm decision has yet been made. Cllr Long and residents hope designs that have been drawn up will be fast tracked in order to ensure the issue is rectified as quickly as possible.

Cllr Long said flooding was of even greater concern in the winter months. He said it was imperative that it was sorted by the autumn of this year as this was when the weather often turned again, becoming harsher.

Cllr Long said: ‘We’re going to be facing storms which will likely be getting worse and worse, which means even more flooding.

‘It’s only a matter of time before a deluge comes down the hill, gets blocked and the water level rises extremely quickly and floods down into people’s properties on the Horsewhim housing estate.

‘More people will be affected unless we find an effective solution. These are preventative measures we’re trying to take. We need to be proactive and not wait until houses are underwater before doing something.

‘This has been a problem forever with Kit Hill. We’re the second wettest place in Cornwall; because we’re South Westerly, the clouds come across Kit Hill and dump water around here. We’ll always get rainfall — it’s just how we deal with it.’