New flood protection fitted for homes on Sandon Road after years of flooding

New flood protection has been fitted to homes on Sandon Road in Stafford, after residents have faced flooding issues for years.

The Environment Agency says flood risk has been reduced for 31 properties, with work including flood doors, flood resistant air bricks, pumps, and targeted repointing of brickwork to help seal gaps where water can get in.

Why this area is prone to flooding

The flooding is linked to Sandyford Brook, a small river that starts on Stafford Common and flows towards the River Sow, passing close to Sandon Road.

The Environment Agency says the brook runs through a naturally flat area, meaning water does not drain away quickly. It also says ground subsidence reduces how well drainage works, so water can build up on the road and around nearby properties.

Local impact

Many local people will remember the heavy flooding around 6 January 2025, when flood water affected multiple properties nearby.

That included parts of Corporation Street, with local businesses also impacted, and there were problems further down at the crossroads of Sandon Road and Corporation Street as water built up around homes and shops.

What the new measures are designed to do

The upgrades are designed to help stop flood water entering homes where possible, and to reduce damage if flooding does happen.

Will Groves, senior flood risk officer for the Environment Agency, said:

“This scheme provides practical, property level resilience measures that will make a real difference to people’s lives.While we cannot prevent flooding entirely, we can ensure homes are better prepared, more resilient, and able to recover more quickly.”

The Environment Agency says it is also in discussions about a possible flood storage area upstream of Sandon, which could reduce flood risk further.

Ongoing work and the flooding taskforce

Stafford MP Leigh Ingham has also been sharing updates about work happening around Sandon Road and nearby routes.

In a statement about a flooding taskforce meeting held in 2025, she said:

“Following my open forum with 65 residents, the Taskforce meeting was a constructive opportunity to raise the findings with the relevant agencies and discuss how we can best support residents by working as a cross agency group.”

She also said flood resilience funding is welcome, but not a full fix, adding:

“While it’s brilliant to have been awarded funding for property level flood resilience in Stafford as part of the Government’s £2.65bn investment in flood defences, it’s not a total solution. To fully address this pervasive flooding, I am advocating for shift in the way flooding funding is allocated.”

In another update shared in summer 2025, Leigh said drain clearing work had taken place near Dawkes and Co, and that Severn Trent were designing a new control valve to better manage surface water during storms. She also said investigative works on Crooked Bridge Road were due to begin in early August 2025.

Leigh also said the Flooding Minister Emma Hardy visited Sandon Road in 2025 to see the impact first hand, and that more work is still needed to get a long term solution for residents and businesses.