Flooding in Horncastle was caused by 'heavy rainfall' report finds

The Lead Local Flood Authority in Lincolnshire has found the root cause of flooding in Horncastle last year was heavy rainfall.

An independent review was commissioned earlier this year.

Almost 200 homes were flooded following Storm Babet in October 2023.

Many locals at the time and since have criticised the flood defences.

Despite the rollout of an £8.1 million Flood Alleviation Scheme in 2017, a total of 197 properties in Horncastle and 31 homes in Kirkby on Bain were affected after the county experienced two months’ worth of rain within just 24 hours in October 2023.

The Environment Agency insisted issues with the defences did not cause the flooding saying it was the heavy rainfall and that regardless of the delays in closing the sluice gate, the devastation would still have taken place.

Lincolnshire County Council commissioned its own review - which has now concluded that findings in the original report are deemed to be 'reasonable'.

A number of recommendations have been made which the report says would 'make the assessment by the EA more robust and reduce the uncertainty within our findings'

The recommendations include:

• Provision of a risk analysis and uncertainty assessment of the modelling results and
• discussion of how these affect the outcome of the impact assessment
• Further supporting information on modelled versus actual observed flows and levels.
• Verification of the Victoria Mill GS level and flow measurements for peak flows

A spokesperson for the Environment Agency said:

“ We welcome the initial findings of Lincolnshire County Council's peer review, and are continuing to work with LCC on its content.

"We can confirm that we will continue to work with Horncastle Town Council and landowners as we explore options to reduce the risk of flooding, though it is important to note the risk can never be eliminated entirely.”

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