Residents and businesses in four Boston-area streets asked to move vehicles for drainage maintenance - or see them removed

Lincolnshire County Council has made the plea as it gets set to carry out a programme of drain emptying and cleaning in and around Lincoln and Boston.

Parked vehicles, the authority explains, can prevent the specialist tanker it uses for such work from getting along the street.

This, it says, has led to drains remaining blocked and has even contributed to localised flooding during heavy rain.

Residents and businesses will be notified of drain works in advance, the council says, with postcards delivered to properties on affected streets and signs placed on site showing the date the drain cleaning team will attend.

On the day of the visit, all parking will be removed from the street, the council says.

Where there are normally parking bays or residential permit bays, these will be suspended, it says. On streets without existing restrictions, a temporary order will be in place preventing parking, waiting and stopping. Access for residents will be maintained wherever it is safe to do so, it adds.

The affected streets in the Boston area are:

• Hartley Street, Boston, October 5, no waiting at any time order 7am to 10pm
• Norfolk Place, Boston, October 5, no waiting at any time order 7am to 10pm
• Orchard Street, Boston, October 5, no waiting at any time order 7am to 10pm
• Church Close, Wrangle, October 5, no waiting at any time order 7am to 10pm

In addition to the drainage works, while parking is suspended, the council says it may have other highway teams joining the crew to carry out work such as pothole repairs.

Coun David East, executive member for highways and transport at Lincolnshire County Council said: “We’re running a widespread scheme of this preventative drainage clearance so that when the poor weather arrives, the road gullies and drains have a better chance of dealing with the sudden increase in water that often happens in short bursts of time.

“The very best way we can do this is to make sure that the assets themselves are not blocked and can have a clear channel to the bigger sewers under the ground. Previously, the team has found that – despite lots of notice beforehand – cars were left parked up, often directly over the drains themselves.

“We can’t have that happening because it really halts the progress of the positive work we’re trying to deliver. Hopefully this year everyone will abide by the temporary parking restrictions, and we can clear the gullies and drains as we want to.

“If that happens then surface road water at these sites will be cleared away a lot faster than it otherwise would have been. We do not want to have to physically remove cars that are blocking the work, but it is an option for us that we will have to consider as we move around the county.

“Thank you in advance for your help in this part of keeping your neighbourhood drains clear.”