More autumn leaves falling than usual, say LB Hounslow

Image above: Bus on Chiswick High Rd, Sunday 6 November

Heavy rainfall causes flooding on Chiswick High Rd

The recent heavy rainfall has caused flooding on Chiswick High Rd. Standing water covered big stretches of the road last Wednesday (2 November) and huge puddles formed again as the rain fell on Sunday.

It was evident after the first heavy rainfall that autumn leaves clogging the drains were exacerbating the situation, so The Chiswick Calendar asked LB Hounslow on Thursday when Chiswick High Rd would be getting a clear up.

Hounslow Highways swept Chiswick High Rd on Friday, but did not sweep the pavements or round the corners into sideroads, leaving the pavements and pedestrian crossings at junctions still slippery with sodden leaves.

Images above: Chiswick High Rd junction with Clifton Gardens; pavement outside Robert Dyas on Saturday 5 November

Dry summer and cool September contribute to more leaves on the ground than usual

They are finding it hard to keep up with the leaf fall because, says Hounslow Council, it is heavier than usual. They told The Chiswick Calendar on Friday:

‘The weather has affected leaf fall incredibly this year and we have seen an exceptional drop following the heavy rain and winds earlier this week.

‘The weather over the summer was extremely dry so a lot of trees shut down their normal growth and lost some leaves as an act of self-preservation.’

A sunny September meant: ‘trees had a second growth with new leaves almost at the time trees would  begin to ‘shut down’ for winter. With the very heavy prolonged rains and squally winds earlier this week, the re-grown leaves fell instantly.

‘More resources were diverted there today to manage this sudden increase of fallen leaf.’

They sent helpful ‘before’ and ‘after’ photographs to show the road had been swept.

Images above: Before and after sweeping on Chiswick High Rd; photographs LB Hounslow

Hammersmith & Fulham sweeping every day

LB Hounslow’s efforts at leaf clearing have been compared unfavourably with LB Hammersmith & Fulham’s. Leo Murray posted a video on Twitter thanking the Council for clearing the leaves in the cycle lane every day.

Read more stories on The Chiswick Calendar

See also: District Line shut and Chiswick High Rd flooded by torrential rain

See also: Sewage discharged into the Thames five times within a week

See all the latest stories: Chiswick Calendar News & Features

Support The Chiswick Calendar

The Chiswick Calendar CIC is a community resource. Please support us by buying us the equivalent of a monthly cup of coffee (or more, if you insist). Click here to support us.

We publish a weekly newsletter and update the website with local news and information daily. We are editorially independent.

To subscribe to the weekly newsletter, go here.