£200,000 boost to save village from flooding (From Evesham Journal)

£200,000 boost to save village from flooding

1:40pm Friday 31st August 2012 in News By Sarah Taylor

BROADWAY’S flood alleviation scheme has been given a cash boost after the parish council decided to pledge more than £200,000 towards the plan.

Councillors decided to allocate the village’s ‘new homes bonus’ contribution, which totals £204,000, for the next six years to the new flood defence plan.

The scheme, which will benefit Broadway, Childswickham and Murcot and reduce the risk of flooding on the Badsey Brook for 272 homes to 1.3 per cent, is set to cost about £3 million.

Due to a shortfall of £312,000 in January this year, 1,725 households from all three villages were asked to contribute £100 towards the scheme.

But despite this, only £20,000 has been raised from contributions and fund-raising events.

Councillors said they hoped that, although local landowners had not yet given consent for their land to be used, the money would show support from the village and perhaps boost the scheme’s chance of being selected for a government grant.

Chairman of the finance committee, Coun Sue Stephenson, said: “This funding will show support from the community.

“This area has been lucky recently that no major flooding has happened here as it has elsewhere.”

But not everyone was in favour of the decision.

Coun Nigel Robinson, one of two councillors who did not support the full amount being used for the flood scheme, said: “Some of the money could be spent on the library.

“The contribution from the village has only been five per cent. We are supporting something the community are not. To me it is absolutely ridiculous.”

And Coun Redvers Haslam, who also voted against the proposal, said the money could remain unused for years while the scheme waited to get the go-ahead.

Anthony Perry, flood risk manager at the Environment Agency, said a decision on whether the scheme would be selected for a government grant would be made in January next year and if successful he hoped work would start in summer 2014.

Worcestershire county councillor Liz Eyre confirmed that if the scheme was unsuccessful the council would get the money back.