Harrow Flooded Again

Amidst the unseasonably hot and largely dry weather we experienced in September and October, the Valley had just one or two downpours. It was one of those that resulted in the Harrow pub being flooded yet again.

Some years ago……

The pub faces the double whammy of being close to the road and at the point where the winterbourne stream crosses the road. The stream is culverted from the ditch on the field side and continues in a pipe underground along Valley Road until it remerges beyond Deeters into the Hopkins field. When the pub was built in the Middle Ages, I expect scant regard was given to the proximity of the stream and most certainly the pub was at the same level as the cart track outside. The pub now sits some way below the road and the stream in flood will spill over the ditch.

Just recently….

This is the second time that Karen has experienced flooding in her five years as landlady at the Harrow. She is very aware of its history, the photos on the wall of the pub provide the evidence.

In recent years, some work has been done to try and prevent water getting into the pub, but it can still penetrate via the entrances and airbricks. Sandbags sit at the entrance to the public bar on a permanent basis.

Karen’s team work hard at keeping nearby drains clear, but their experience suggests that the problem lies mainly with the road – insufficient drainage, road camber and the wash from passing cars.

The DIG have offered to look into this with Bucks Council.

Paul Woodford

HVRA DIG