Recent flooding problems have highlighted the urgent need for improvements to the city's drainage system, it has been claimed. Wednesday's heavy rain caused major problems in the city, but drainage problems have become the norm in periods of heavy rain, with sewers and watercourses not designed to sustain such an impact.

Labour's Neighbourhood Services spokesperson, Coun. Ken King has called for meaningful action as a matter of urgency. He said:

"There was no capital investment in the city's drainage system for the last 5 years, and the ongoing problems indicate a review of the suitability of the city's drainage system needs to be made a priority. Following Labour questions at Council following similar flooding last summer, a council report was presented in December last year, which showed a need to undertake a proper survey the location and condition of the network, and £50k has been allocated in this year's budget is do that. However we have yet to see the results of that, and there are questions as to whether this money is enough to allow a comprehensive review of the system as opposed to simply firefighting previous hotspots. Members need to be brought up to date on what progress has been made"

"It must be remembered instances of flooding only grab the headlines when it is at the major level. Gully problems have persisted for a number of years now, and are regularly reported by my Labour colleagues, without long-term improvements.

Councillor Dave Merrett (Micklegate Ward), who's been dealing with complaints from residents whose houses have been flooded in the latest event, one involving sewerage backflow through the Council's road gullies into 4 properties, said the slow progress to date and lack of urgency was unacceptable. "We cannot continue to allow the current inadequate arrangements to continue - ruining people's houses and their lives for typically a whole year is an unacceptable. The Council and Yorkshire Water need to adopt a more proactive approach to identifying all the potential hotspots - not simply wait for a big local downpour to discover where they are at local residents expense. "

Councillor King finished by saying: "Some tough decisions need to be taken in finding the extent of the problems we face, and in providing the funding to tackle them. We need to act and address the consequences of our changing climate, and not simply be reactive to flooding when it occurs".