WITH the worst flooding in the UK’s history affecting vast swathes of England, the county council and Welsh Assembly has invested £1m on Anglesey to protect two communities from future flood problems. The money has helped complete two major flood prevention schemes in Beaumaris and Llanfaes – helping safeguard properties that had previously been hit by floods. Despite there being no statutory duty on the authority to carry out such flood defence work, the highways service felt that improvements to the infrastructure would not only give local communities peace of mind but also avoid additional costs in terms of wasted man-hours and resources during flood emergencies. John Lennon, a resident of Mill Lane, Beaumaris, said: “We were flooded here in October 2005 and the insurance bill then came to £37,500 so you can imagine the damage that was done. We feel far more secure now this scheme has been put in place, I am confident the water would never again reach those levels now these changes have been made.” Head of highways and transportation, Dewi Williams, said: “These were both important projects which had to be carried out, in the main, to prevent further flooding, but also to avoid the authority wasting resources and man-hours as our officers were regularly called to attend flooding emergencies.” Problems which exacerbated the flooding were identified. These included lack of capacity in the existing watercourse to deal with additional rain water and debris constantly blocking the culverts and grilles. Officers then set about preparing business cases for two flood prevention schemes to tackle these problems. They successfully secured 85% of the funding needed from the Welsh Assembly Government’s flood and coastal defence branch, with the county council contributing the remainder. The work was coordinated by the highways services’ structures section, with the support of Martin Wright Associates and carried out by GH James Ltd Contractors of Trawsfynydd. The schemes required detailed planning and took several months to complete, as much of the work had to be undertaken in sensitive and confined spaces, with careful consideration given to surrounding BT, gas and water utilities. Work included widening and clearing nearby streams, cleaning bridges and rebuilding culverts which led the watercourse to the sea. Dewi Williams added: “Of course, we don’t want to tempt fate, especially as we’re in the middle of summer, but we’re confident that this work will prevent substantial flooding during future storms.” Both flood prevention schemes have been welcomed by local residents and praised by the Welsh Assembly Government. Highways and transportation portfolio holder Cllr Keith Evans said: “The highways service takes flooding issues very seriously, and these schemes demonstrate that we are committed to improving infrastructure as and when possible to prevent damage to homes and communities. “I’d like to thank local residents for their patience and our structures team and the contractor for their hard work in ensuring these schemes were successfully completed.” Local county councillor RL Owen added: “Beaumaris residents experienced severe flooding some two and a half years ago during an unprecedented rain storm. Highways officers responded efficiently at the time, and have now provided a long term solution, in the hope that such flooding will not be repeated.” owen.hughes | 
Article
