The housing estate was built on a flood plant, leaving some to question the wisdom of Denbighshire Council in granting developer Tayor Wimpey planning permission. However, an official report for the council by Dr Jean Venables, former president of the Institution of Civil Engineers, found that the culverts were blocked by vegetation.
There was no record of them ever having been inspected or maintained and their grilles were of “poor design, not complying with any recognised standard and not capable of being safely cleared in an emergency”.
Some 122 homes on Ruthin’s Glasdir estate were inundated by flooding last November.
However, it was unclear whether the culvert was blocked before the heavy rainfall or became blocked by debris washed into the grille by floodwater from the overflowing River Clwyd.
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