Northumberland flood warnings were not heeded
Oct 3 2009 by Richard Fletcher, The Journal
FLOODING in a Northumberland village could have been avoided last September if the Environment Agency had listened to warnings, villagers have claimed.
People living in Stamfordham have questioned whether the flooding that affected the village could have been prevented had the Environment Agency unblocked an arch in the village’s bridge.
The Agency has now agreed to remove the build-up in one of the two arches at the bridge and could begin work this month after clearing trees from the area.
But the village’s parish council says it contacted the Environment Agency repeatedly over the last three or four years as it felt the blockage was a flooding hazard, only for their calls to be ignored.
Chairman of the parish council Edward Trevelyan said: “Last September when those floods happened there were one or two houses flooded in Stamfordham due to that bridge.
“The parish council has been trying for years to get someone to do a clear out of the bridge, without success, until something as unfortunate as last September. It’s prodded the Environment Agency into action.
Clerk to the council Ken Dodd said: “If both arches had been open it’s most unlikely that the flooding would have occurred.
“Eventually the Environment Agency has come round to Stamfordham’s way of thinking and agreed to do the work.
“It’s been going on for years. Originally the Environment Agency said it’s nothing to do with them.
The flooding affected a small number of houses, with Olive Lough, who lives at Grange Road, among those affected.
She said: “I think they should have done it – it’s annoying. But then it had never happened before.”
Neighbour Linda Boylan, whose courtyard was flooded, said: “It was scary. I’ve lived here for 18 years and I’ve never seen the water that high. We were desperately trying to block it off by whatever means we could.
“If they’d started when we were expecting them to it would have helped.”
Paul Constantine, the Environment Agency's area operations team leader, said: “We’re sorry the work to clear silt and other material from the bridge at Stamfordham hasn’t been completed as quickly as we expected.
“We had hoped to remove the silt in April or May this year but protracted negotiations with landowners and emergency works arising from further flooding across other parts of the area in July have delayed it. We remain committed to reducing flood risk in the village, and are liaising with the parish council about the work, which we hope to carry out as soon as possible.”
