Calls for immediate action to hold back flood waters until dam is built

A plea has been made for emergency measures to be brought in to prevent another repeat of the devastating flooding that swept through Shrewsbury again last week.

Councillors said residents and business owners could not be expected to face the continued threat of flooding until a potential multi-million pound alleviation scheme to the north of the town comes to fruition.

Councillor Kate Halliday, who represents Belle Vue, said last week’s flooding was another blow to people in Coleham who were still in the process of repairing the damage caused by the two episodes of flooding early last year.

Shrewsbury Town Council unanimously supported her motion to request that Shropshire Council and the Environment Agency work together to “urgently develop short, medium and long-term plans” to prevent flooding in the town.

Councillor Halliday said: “It has been a really, really difficult time for people in Coleham, and also I’m aware that Coleham isn’t the only part of Shrewsbury that’s been flooded.

“The flood waters were pretty much as bad as last time for us. All the shops that got affected last got affected this time around. Many had either completed renovations or had nearly completed renovations.”

Councillor Halliday said she had “real concerns” over the future of businesses in the area if no swift action is taken.

She said: “We do have a flood action group in Coleham and we have suggested some short and medium-term solutions to these problems, but at present people are only interested in discussing the longer-term issues.

“I think we really need to have some shorter-term plans.”

The motion was backed by other members, including Councillor Julian Dean who said: “Absolutely we do need short-term measured as well as all the long-term measures.”

Town council leader Alan Mosley said Shropshire Council should set up an emergency scrutiny committee to investigate potential measures that could be implemented sooner than the major scheme being planned by the River Severn Partnership.

He said: “The work that they will be undertaking is many years away and we can see from experience increasing rates of flooding around the town.

“It’s time for urgent action on a short and medium-term basis to get somebody acting on what’s an increasing and devastating problem for those involved, and devastating for our town.”

Councillor Mosley suggested a further amendment to the motion that “we demand our MP make a public statement about what’s going to be done about this and why more isn’t being done at the moment”.