Flood defences for at-risk Worcestershire village delayed again
Severn Stoke has suffered major flooding three times in the past 14 years
Much-needed defences for a village hit hard several times by flooding are facing a new delay.
Revised plans for permanent flood defences in Severn Stoke have had to be resubmitted to Malvern Hills District Council a year after councillors backed the proposals to protect the village.
Council planners said the altered designs have moved slightly and now cover a patch of land in the village that was not in the original plan forcing the proposals to go back to the council for another decision.
Public consultation on the plans runs until December 3 which means a decision is unlikely to be made until next year.
The vulnerable village was badly hit by major flooding in 2007 and 2012 ruining homes, the 500-year-old Rose and Crown pub, St. Denys’s Church, and the village hall before floods hit for a third devastating time last year.
The plans show how a new embankment would be created to the south of the village protecting the area from future flooding.
A section of the village’s Ham Lane would also be raised as part of the work.
A statement included in the application by the Severn Stoke Community Interest Company, said: “The development proposed will significantly reduce the risk of flooding to the village of Severn Stoke.
“The level of flood risk currently posed to the village is considerable, with regular flood events over the past decade having had substantial impact on individuals, the community and the wider area.
“The development of a flood alleviation scheme in this area will help safeguard existing economic outputs by reducing risk to local business, community assets such as the local community centre and, crucially, the average number of days per year that the A38 is impacted by flood waters lessening the potential for considerable disruption within the wider region.
“Whilst it is acknowledged that the development will change the setting for key features within the community – most notably St Denys Church – it should be noted that a number of these features are at flood risk and have been damaged by previous events.
“The proposed development has, and will continue to be, designed as sympathetically as possible to the surrounding landscape, whilst seeking to safeguard and reduce damage to local heritage assets.”