People living in a row of houses in Bristol that have flooded five times since September are calling for more permanent solutions to end their misery. The residents of Frome Terrace, which lies at the bottom of Blackberry Hill and Broom Hill in Stapleton finally managed to persuade the council to clear the drains on the road outside their homes, but the homes have been cut off by rising rainwater two more times since then.
Now they want a series of more long-term solutions to ensure heavy rain doesn’t have them filling sandbags again. Some residents said they ‘just want to feel safe in their homes’, while others said the floods have caused them health problems. The road, the pavement, the path in front of their homes and their homes themselves have been flooded on and off for years, but this autumn and winter has been particularly bad.
People living in Frome Terrace said the drains being blocked on the main road means water pours off the hill and the UWE Glenside campus, down the road and through the railings and the gate into their homes, which are at a lower level than the road above.
In 2022, one of the homes was completely flooded out, and its resident, Angela, ended up in hospital for a week after suffering from an asthma attack in the process.
The record-breaking wet autumn of 2024 has seen repeated instances of the road and then the front of the homes flooding, leaving their cars knee-deep in water and people living there effectively cut off. Local councillors Louis Martin and Al Al-Maghrabi took up the residents’ cause and got the city council to clear the drains on Blackberry Hill – which are scheduled to be cleared once a year – early, but such were the downpours that flooding occurred twice more even after the drains were cleared.
Angela, 75, said her home has been flooded out multiple times, and lives with sandbags outside her front door to try to stop the water from coming in whenever it rains. “I’m now terrified every time it rains,” she said. “Some of the drains are positioned so far out from the road that they don’t stop the flow coming down the hill,” she added.
Another Frome Terrace resident, Wayne, added: “The problem is that, although most of the drains on Blackberry Hill were unblocked in mid-November, the ones on Broom Hill – the other hill leading down to our properties – were barely touched by the cleansing team, making those drains completely redundant.
“On November 24, to make matters worse, we had a heavy spell of rain which even caused the Duchess Pond to overflow as well, meaning there was water coming down from both hills, and Stoke Park, rising to at least two feet right outside our properties.
“I have a heart condition, and I just want to feel safe in my own home. Instead, I’m out there with my neighbours, trying to empty the drains ourselves in wellies, with the water two foot high. We should be compensated for our time, and my tools which have got ruined from unblocking drains. I’m on benefits. We beg the council to take our daily anxieties about this seriously,” he added.
Bristol was run for eight years by a Labour mayor and council team until May 2024, but since becoming a minority opposition, the area’s two new Labour councillors have been calling for action from the council. Cllr Louis Martin and Cllr Al Al-Maghrabi have started a campaign called ‘Protect Frome Terrace From Flooding’, which calls for the city council to do more to stop the floodwaters rising.
They successfully persuaded the council to unblock more drains more frequently, but want more permanent solutions.
“We visited the residents of Frome Terrace in person soon after the first flood this year, to see first-hand how serious an issue this is,” the pair said. “No-one in Bristol should have to wake up to their house being flooded. Keeping drains unblocked should be a basic duty for the council, especially when residents’ homes downhill regularly flood. We’ve seen evidence that when there’s heavy rainfall, the water streams over the top of the drains. Clearly, only unblocking the drains once a year isn’t working and more needs to be done.
“We have heard horror stories from residents, dating back years. We’ve been pushing the council to take this matter seriously, ensure the drains are regularly unblocked, and look at installing a floodgate or a new drain at Frome Terrace to protect their houses when the council’s lack of action means they flood,” they added.
Residents said they are still concerned about future weather events, and have drawn up a list of solutions they are calling on the council to implement. As well as more frequent drain clearances, the drainage system on the road should be remodelled to better capture water running off the hills and woods and down the road, and the residents also want the gate to the path to their homes replaced by a storm gate, or to install a new drain on the path itself.
Bristol Live has approached the ruling Green Party group at City Hall, and a response is awaited.