Thatcham: Flood basin plans to further safeguard town from flooding

Plans have been put forward to create four basins to prevent flooding in a town during heavy rain.

Thatcham was devastated by severe floods in July 2007 with about 1,000 homes damaged after water rose to 4ft (1.2m) in places.

West Berkshire Council wants to dig the basins to collect excess water which is later released into the sewers.

The proposals go before the authority's planning committee on Wednesday and are recommended for approval.

One basin is planned for Bowling Green Lane and two in West Health Lane in Cold Ash, a further single basin is proposed for Floral Way in Thatcham, the Local Democracy Reporting Service, (LDRS) reported.

Water would feed into the basins from a series of pipes and ditches.

The basins are designed to hold large volumes of surface run-off and the water is then released at a controlled rate into the sewer system once a storm has passed.

In the past, during extreme rainfall, the town's systems have been overwhelmed causing widespread flooding.

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