Trafford Council is significantly strengthening its drain clearance operation across the borough by introducing an extra gully cleaning vehicle and crew in 2026.
The additional vehicle will focus on regular gully cleaning, helping to keep drains clear of leaves, silt, and debris, and reduce the risk of localised flooding during heavy rainfall.
The extra resource is designed to make the service more resilient, ensuring that routine drain clearance work can continue even during periods of high demand caused by severe weather.
Increasing the Council's capacity to proactively clear and maintain gullies will reduce the risk of flooding, minimise emergency callouts and prevent more costly reactive works.
Trafford Council manages approximately 70,000 highway drains through its partnership with Amey, known as the One Trafford Partnership (OTP).
Alongside drain cleaning, One Trafford Partnership teams also monitor highway culverts and trash screens, carry out drainage repairs, and prioritise gullies in known flooding hotspots ahead of the winter season.
Road gullies are small grate-covered openings that remove surface water from the highway, directing rainwater or wastewater into the drainage system, which is managed in Trafford by United Utilities.
Cllr Stephen Adshead, Executive Member for Highways, Environmental and Traded Services, said:
"With the wet weather we’ve experienced recently, I welcome this additional investment to fund an extra gully wagon and expand the work we do to keep drains clear.
While wider action is needed to tackle the climate crisis, proactive measures like this are essential to help mitigate the impacts of torrential rain and flash flooding, and to keep our communities safe.”
Learn more about how Trafford Council manages highway drainage.