The Flood – the bits I saw – Sunday morning

7:30am Market Place – to confirm that no one had turned up for the cancelled farmers’ market. Pleasant, dry morning – why did I cancel the market?

8am Water had cleared from the New Market, the Chantry, Terrace Car Park – but the Library and Gas House Lane still under water. Road surface ripped up by floods in Chantry Place and Wellwood Gardens.

8.20am Wellwood Gardens, Staithes Lane and the new Low Stanners Car Park still under water.

10am Phone call: “why are they pumping out the Waterford, when Staithes Lane is still under water? Priorities?”

10.30am Checked out Staithes Lane – water retreating but still there, and still getting run-off from Dark Lane. Water level in Low Stanners Car Park is same as river level. Car park was designed to soak away water and that is working, but the water level is too high – which is why there’s no pumping going on. There’s nowhere to pump to.

3pm Debrief for emergency team

4pm Briefing for Morpeth councillors…