Flooding Alleviation Works on Children’s Playground and Village Green
Over the past few months Councillors have been actively seeking a viable solution to the flooding that affected the Children’s Playground and wider Village Green.
It proved to be a far more complicated problem to try and solve than had been originally hoped. The Parish Council wanted to ensure they addressed the flooding for the long term and not be faced with this issue every year.
A whole series of surveys were commissioned to try and identify the cause of the problem along with specialist advice on how best to solve it.
Initially it was thought to install a large subterranean chamber, into which the water would drain and from which would be pumped into the nearby brook (permission allowing). This proved to be a very costly option and had long term maintenance implications.
Alternatives were looked for and more cost effective solution and one which is less invasive and more environmentally friendly was then considered by Terrain Aeration Services Ltd. Essentially the method involves hammering a hollow probe into the soil to one-metre depth into which compressed air is then blasted through the probe and at the same time injecting dried milled seaweed. Over a period of time the seaweed expands and contracts with the moisture content in the soil, helping to keep the fractures and fissures open. The process is repeated over a grid pattern, two meters apart – the holes are then backfilled with an aggregate to provide a ventilation/aeration shaft to promote the aeration process.
Terrain Aeration Services Ltd. have worked successfully with many clients including: The Royal Parks (Buckingham Palace & Windsor), National Trust, Diddly Squat Farm and all major house builders. The contractor was subsequently instructed to carry out the works which were undertaken on the 8th July 2025. The costs were funded by East Herts S106 monies.