‘Distressed’ residents put at ease as park’s flooding problems are finally over

After years of flooding at a village park, work has finally been completed which will allow it to be accessible during the winter months.Over the past few years, there has been consistent heavy flooding on the grounds of Wootton Park – leaving it unusable and leading to football games being cancelled.Last year the flooding was at its worst, with large areas left under standing water from October through to April.

This has caused “distress” to residents and The Woottons Football Club having to cancel fixtures and finding somewhere else to play due to waterlogged pitches.The committee for the Wootton Park Association proposed to dig a new ditch to allow the flow of water off the park. The scheme has been postponed on a number of occasions because of rain – but was finally completed last week.A previous ditch had been blocked up and went through a wooded area that could not be cleared out properly.

It has been re-dug and will now allow water to run off the field. Additionally, two French drains have been added in front of the pavilion.Will Border, chair of the Wootton Park Association, said: “I am incredibly pleased with the result and I am hoping the next few years will see a massive improvement in the drainage of the park.

“I have had loads of positive feedback from locals so far because everyone who walks their dogs has said this so much better.” Neil Gotsell, treasurer at The Woottons Football Club who runs a few of the teams, said that last season, certain games had to be called off because the pitch was “unsafe to play”.In front of the pavilion, there was standing water which he said was dangerous for children to go through – meaning they had to detour to be able to go to the toilet.

Mr Gotsell said: “The improvements are already there for everyone to see.“We have had quite a bit of rain over the last couple of days and we are still bone dry. The dike that did run across the side of the park towards the car park most of the time was overflowing over the bridge, making it unsafe, but now there is room with how much levels have dropped. “The work that the team have done on it is fantastic which means we won’t have to call any games off.”

The committee for the Wootton Park Association thanked everyone who helped in ensuring this project could go ahead. These included West Norfolk Council through CIL funding, as well as the parish councils of North and South Wootton.The association also thanked The Woottons Football Club, local residents for their understanding and patience, and land drainage experts William Morefoot for “doing an excellent job”.