'Bring your wellies to town'

A PORTISHEAD pensioner says people visiting the town's health centre when it rains should take their wellies - because the entrance gets so badly flooded.Fed up Beryl Broad, aged 77, of Victoria Square says the drains near the entrance of Portishead Health Centre are so badly blocked they cause the road infront of the building to turn into a lake when it rains.Mrs Broad says she has taken the matter up with the town's Local Action Team (LAT), councillors and the health centre, but as yet, no action has been taken.Mrs Broad, of Victoria Square, said: "I notice it every time it rains."The drains are blocked so the area turns into a lake."When you look at the drains you can see they are full of dirt and mess and there is even grass growing out of them."They can't take the rainwater and it just spills out into the road."It is bad enough if you have to walk through it and you need to wear wellies, but it must be very difficult for people who are in wheelchairs, using mobility scooters or on crutches or sticks."A lot of people are complaining about the flooding down there, but nothing seems to be done."Portishead councillor John Clark said the matter needed to be resolved before wetter weather set in. Cllr Clark said: "It is not acceptable that these drains have been left like this and it is causing problems for people using the health centre."But the ownership of the land where the drains lie is a mystery, with both the health centre and North Somerset Council claiming the road does not belong to them. North Somerset Council spokesman Steve Makin said: "The access road to the health centre where the gullies are blocked is a private road and therefore not maintained by the council."Our area officer is making enquiries to find out who does own the land and make sure the matter is brought to their attention and the drains maintained.