I've arranged a site visit with staff from Harlow Council's parks and landscapes department, following a complaint from a resident about the empty, neglected planters at the south end of The Briars and Copshall Close. There are dozens of these planters across the estates, and some of them have never been given any topsoil or plants since the minute they were built. The Council agrees to provide topsoil and some form of planting in the next season, from November.

Following the late afternoon downpour, a number of residents in Barleycroft find their gardens flooded because the drains are blocked, and are worried that the water will pour into their homes. I ring the Council's emergency number and arrange for sandbags to be delivered. There are hundreds of homes across the town in the same position, and the crews on the council lorries distributing sandbags from the depot are struggling to keep up with the demand.