‘It’s just a nightmare!” Jewellers calls for action from Shropshire Council to improve drainage after shop floods – again

Madeline and Tim Grainger, who own Temptations jewellers and gift shop in Market Drayton, were affected by the flash floods which swept through some of the county’s towns earlier this week.

Rainwater, dirt and detritus came down passed The Crown pub on Stafford Street and washed up at – and into – the store on 22 Queen Street leaving them with sodden carpets and a damp, lingering smell.

The couple say they’ve been dealing with floodwater for around 26 years – since they’ve been in business – and that the drains outside their shop cannot cope with the amount of rainfall.

Mrs Grainger said: “I’m just at the end of my tether with it, with everything else, you know how difficult it is on the High Street at the moment and then to be faced with this.

“On Tuesday it was horrendous, the water was three quarters of the way through the shop. It’s just a nightmare, it just feels like we don’t matter.”

The county was gripped by a mix of amber and yellow weather warnings for thunderstorms on Monday with between 16 and 32mm of rain falling per hour in some places between 6.15pm and 8.45pm.

Now, Mr and Mrs Grainger have called on Shropshire Council to improve the drainage system in the area and install more drain access grids to deal with rainwater before it reaches the shop.

The couple said while the Council did acknowledge the problem some years ago and fitted a larger grid, this has seldom been maintained.

“We have been subjected to this flooding for many years and now with climate change it is happening more often,” Mrs Grainger added.

“A square grid and two other small grids by our gates are not maintained and continually blocked with soil, leaves etc.

“However, there needs to be more drain access grids installed further up the paved area so that the water and sludge can drain away before it reaches our shop and the blocked drains.

“This cannot continue. We cannot keep footing the bill caused by this faulty drainage system.

“It isn’t fair on us, our staff and customers to have to work in these conditions it’s appalling and it needs sorting.”

A spokesperson for Shropshire Council said: “Multiple locations in Shropshire were impacted by thunderstorms earlier this week, and during such storms the intensity of rainfall over a short period of time will quickly overwhelm surface water drainage systems.

“In many cases this flooding will then recede once the storm has passed, and our highways teams have been out across the county following this week’s storms to ensure that critical drainage infrastructure is properly maintained.

“Our highways team has been contacted in relation to Queen Street and has arranged for the gullies and drainage network in the area to be jetted through and cleared.”