Village buys its own pumps over flooding fears

Villagers hit by flooding during heavy rain last winter are calling for more to be done to prevent it happening again.

Twenty-five homes in Tallington, near Bourne, Lincolnshire, flooded in January.

The village has bought its own pumps and has set up a volunteer flood response team after becoming frustrated at a lack of progress on the issue, parish council chairman Philip Sagar said.

The Environment Agency said it was "continuing to work with communities and partners", while Anglian Water said it was playing "our role as part of the collective who have different responsibilities for flooding and drainage".

Mr Sagar claimed that, during the January floods, water had been unable to escape from the village "because the drains have not been maintained for many years".

"There are lots of agencies involved," he said. "We have had lots of meetings and lots of promises, but the bottom line is this village should not flood and it can be protected if our drains are maintained and repaired."

Tallington Parish Council has bought three pumps and organised a team of volunteers to operate them and put out sandbags.

"We have to plan for ourselves because everything is taking so long," Mr Sagar added.

Jonathan Baynes, who lives in Mill Lane, was forced to leave his home during the January floods.

He said a drain outside his home was badly blocked.

"It's so full that whenever you get any rain, the water can't go anywhere," he said.

A spokesperson for Anglian Water said: "The flooding issues at Tallington are complex and require action from many different organisations."

A recent meeting of agencies concluded with an agreement to examine what needed to be done, the spokesperson added.

Karen Cassar, assistant director for highways at Lincolnshire County Council, said: "We're well aware of the issues in Tallington and have visited the village several times. We're continuing to work with the parish council and other partners to best support residents."

Meanwhile, Network Rail said it was supporting efforts to clear culverts near a railway line in the village.

Tallington is one of a number of Lincolnshire communities calling for more action to be taken on flooding.

In nearby Baston, the Waterside Garden Centre was forced to close for four months after 4ft-high floodwater inundated the property.

Owner Andy Parrott said he believed that the flooding could have been prevented if a sluice gate had been opened fully to allow water from the nearby River Glen to drain away.

"Opening a gate won't cost [the Environment Agency] any money," he said.

In Fiskerton, near Lincoln, 81 properties were evacuated in October last year after damage was discovered along two sections of the bank of the River Witham.

Ian Fleetwood, who represents the village on Lincolnshire County Council, said the damaged sections still had not been repaired and he was "constantly reminding" the Environment Agency about it.

"Now is the time to get stuck in and get something done, because the bank is very fragile," he said.

"With a large weight of water behind it the bank could burst. That would be a travesty."

A spokesperson for the Environment Agency said it had completed a number of emergency repair works and was "progressing further plans for work in many other parts of the county, which includes Fiskerton, and will continue to engage with the community there".