Pensioners face 'another decade of flood risks'

Pensioners living in retirement properties could face another decade of flooding before a scheme to protect them is introduced.

The Environment Agency (EA) said a defence project at Holway House Park and Home Farm Park in Ilminster, Somerset, could take 10 years to complete.

The two sites were hit by flooding in October 2021, prompting residents to collectively fund repairs to an embankment.

But the EA said it could take years for further improvements to be realised due to the extensive modelling required and the need to secure government funding.

Barbara Ball, Park home resident, raised the issue when the Somerset Rivers Authority (SRA) board met in Yeovil on Friday.

She said that while the embankment holds back a lot of floodwater, drains and culverts along nearby Station Road needed to be cleared of debris.

Ball cited two reports that stated that if these works were done "it would help eliminate a lot of the causes of the flooding".

She also called on the EA to work with the Farming and Wildlife Advisory Group (FWAG) and landowners to ensure the latter were maintaining local watercourses.

Ross Edwards, EA representative, said recommendations were being taken forward, including a local flood alleviation scheme, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

But he warned that it could be some time before progress would be seen by residents.

"Flood alleviations take about a decade to come to fruition – I know that's not what you wanted to hear, but we've started that process and are moving forward," he said.

James Divall, the council's head of service for climate and the natural environment, said that the council's highways team would carry out work alongside Station Road in the summer to secure some short-term benefits to residents.

"We're hoping that will be done within three to six months, ideally sooner," he said.

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