It didn't stop us having a useful meeting, but it did send the wrong signals

Mark Poarch

Tens of thousands of pounds' damage has been caused at the homes after two floods this year.

The last, in October, was described by some residents as "frightening".

They claim a nearby drainage pond is not working properly, but a spokesman for Barrett Homes said the drainage scheme had already been approved before it acquired its part of the development site.

Nobody from Barratt, Bovis or Taywood Homes - the three companies involved - attended the meeting.

Resident Mark Poarch, who chaired the meeting, said: "We were disappointed.

"It didn't stop us having a useful meeting, but it did send the wrong signals."

Risk reduced

The developers have been co-operating with Bristol City Council since the last flood, two weeks ago.

Mr Poarch said: "I think everybody knows that strong action has been taken and the council is driving this matter through and working closely with the developers and the Environment Agency.

"Given the amount of cleaning up and maintenance work carried out in the past week and a half, the risk of flooding has dropped.

"What we need now is urgent work to reassess the whole drainage system to see what is causing it."

Developers' plan

After the last flood, the Environment Agency insisted that an independent engineer looked at the system.

The agency said it wanted a quick response.

It is expected to be at least four weeks before the preliminary results are known.

The three developers explained their absence by saying they knew what residents wanted, and they would come up with a plan between them.