Hilltop Park estate in Chippenham hit by Storm Henk floods

Houses on Ferguson Close, at the Hilltop Park development just off the A350 at Chippenham, narrowly avoided flooding after heavy rainfall in the wake of Storm Henk on January 4.

Despite high water levels in the area surrounding the brook running through the development, homeowners on other parts of the estate say their streets and properties were not affected.

But developer Bloor Homes is investigating how the flooding of the A350, between the Chequers and Lackham Roundabouts, and other surrounding areas contributed to the incident.

A resident of Ferguson Close, who wished to remain anonymous, says she and her neighbours battled the flood for several hours, including blockading their properties, sweeping water away, digging ditches and clearing drains.

Flooding on the Hilltop Park estate (Image: Public contribution)

She added: “I had no choice but to be out battling the flood, I felt very panicked because I could see the water was coming in worse than last year.

“We were trying to battle it, but it was chucking down and we could see it rising, I was exhausted and ended up falling over in the water.

“I’m worried about further floods, I’ve been left wishing I stayed in my old house where I felt safer.”

This resident believes drainage should be improved and the stream widened to avoid future flooding of the street in the future.

But others in the area believe the flooding was merely due to polystyrene bags being left in the gulleys and blocking drainage during the downpour.

The incident was brought to a close when Bloor Homes staff arrived on scene and drained the water.

Flooding on the Hilltop Park estate (Image: Public contribution)

A spokesperson for the developers said: “As a responsible developer we are taking every action to assist residents affected by flooding which occurred last week after the unprecedented levels of rainfall in the local area.

“We are very responsive to, and supportive of all our homeowners and immediately requested a meeting at the Hilltop Park development with local councillors to discuss what is happening on our development because of the flooded surrounding areas, including the A350 highway.

“As soon as we were made aware that our residents were being affected, our site manager and team attended and tankers were deployed to drain the water, acting quickly to protect customers’ homes.

“We have already contacted all the residents in the vicinity of the flooding at Hilltop Park and will continue to keep them informed as our investigations progress.”