After 18 months of campaigning, a Newport councillor had secured a commitment of further action by the Environment Agency (EA) to address problems with a trash screen in Lukely Brook in Newport.
The blocking of the trash screen exacerbated local flooding in Caesars Road and Wilver Road at Christmas 2013, but now the EA has agreed to replace the existing screen completely.
Speaking on Friday, Cllr Chris Whitehouse (Conservative, Newport West) said:
“Christmas 2013 was an absolute nightmare for local residents who were flooded out of their homes. Some still haven’t finished repairing the damage that was done as a surge of water poured down Lukely Brook during torrential rain, only to find that trash screens were blocked with rubbish. This caused water levels to rise and the Brook to burst its banks.
“Part of the problem was that the bars on the screen were too close together, failing to comply even with the Environment Agency’s own guidelines.”
Local residents, supported by Cllr Whitehouse and the Island’s MP, Andrew Turner, have been working with officers of the Isle of Wight Council and the Environment Agency to get the screen replaced and better monitoring in place.
Cllr Whitehouse continued:
“The Agency have already fitted a web cam at the screen so that the water levels can be remotely monitored in future. It might not be the most riveting web cam on the internet but for local householders who live in fear of repeat flooding, it is a great reassurance.
Article continues below this advertisement “The new screen, the Westminster Grill as it is known because it is alongside Westminster Mill, will also allow rubbish to be cleared during flooding to allow the water to flow better. That this progress has taken 18 months is hugely frustrating, but I’m grateful to local residents and Council and Agency officials for what has been achieved.”
But this isn’t the end of the matter, argues Cllr Whitehouse.
“The whole of Lukely Brook and the feeder tributaries and ponds need much more careful management and coordination in future during periods of heavy rain. I’m working closely with councillor neighbours, John Hobart and Julie Jones-Evans to make this happen. Together we can, and will, keep up the pressure until every reasonable step has been taken.”
