Who is responsible for preventing flooding nuisance on a highway?

A highway authority has various statutory responsibilities, which may include preventing flooding of the public highway. The principal duty under section 41(1) of the Highways Act 1980 is to maintain a highway maintainable at the public expense, unless it can prove that someone else is responsible. This includes the repair and maintenance of drainage systems beneath the highway surface. However, this statutory duty is for the benefit of members of the public using the highway and so does not impose any duty on a highway authority to protect nearby property owners against flood damage. It is not limited to fixing defective drains, but extends to clearing blockages dealing with the consequences of inadequate drainage.

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