The area of Rosehill Park around the car park, by the café, is an area of high surface water flood risk.  A recent investigation shows that the culvert which takes the water from the ditch in the car park, under the Tennis Centre, and the railway line, to the back of Hurstcourt Road, is of insufficient capacity following heavy rain. This causes water to back up and spill out into the playground and the car park.

The proposed solution is the construction of a shallow basin at the south side of the park, on the other side of the playground.  Water from the open ditch will be diverted to this basin when the ditch gets full.  The basin would then be emptied into the culvert at a controlled rate.

When not in use, the basin will remain a dry depression in the ground, approximately 1m deep.

In addition to alleviating flooding this scheme will have the following benefits:

• The basin would be an aesthetic natural/green feature within the park that the public can enjoy. There would give the opportunity for educational use.
• Planting of native vegetation in and around the basin will improve habitat conditions for wildlife.

This project is not currently funded and the next stage is to secure funding.  Then the Council will complete the detailed design stage of the work, and begin the construction of the scheme.  This could be some way off.

Ruth, Marlene and Steve