Tenbury Wells county councillor 'optimistic' town will get property-level flood resilience funding
Justin Bowen has raised his concerns this week to the Regional Flood and Coastal Committee (RFCC) over worries it could be set to miss out on the funding
Worcestershire's county councillor for Tenbury Wells is confident the town's voice is now "being heard" over its need for flood protection.
The town suffered significant flooding on 24 November last year when rainfall from Storm Bert led to the Kyre Brook, which runs through the town, bursting its banks and causing a wall to collapse, leading to businesses being flooded in the centre and on Teme Street.
Despite it not being possible to identify the owner of the wall, Worcestershire County Council said it acted as a 'good neighbour' to get it rebuilt in March.
It was also announced plans for a larger flood defence scheme in the town by the Environment Agency (EA) had been put on hold with the EA mentioning it was looking at "alternative ways of increasing community resilience".
West Worcestershire MP Dame Harriett Baldwin said she was told by the EA, along with the town, funding from its budgets to deliver property-level flood resilience would be 'forthcoming' after it put the main flood defence scheme on hold.
Dame Harriett along with Justin Bowen, the county councillor who represents the Tenbury division, raised their concerns this week though over worries it could be set to miss out on the funding due to be delivered next year.
Bowen says he spoke at a Regional Flood and Coastal Committee (RFCC) meeting on Wednesday (15 October) - who were established by the EA and make recommendations on local priorities for flood risk management, to stress the need for the funding.
He says following it he is 'optimistic' funding can be reallocated so it still goes ahead but will be making sure to keep a focus on it.
"This was just the first step but I think there's a momentum now," he said.
"It was no exaggeration to say that if the funding for this scheme was withdrawn, effectively Tenbury was going to be abandoned, because the next flood would have finished the heart of the town and there was no doubt that was the potential consequence.
"One thing now that I think has become really clear after the meeting is that Tenbury's voice is being heard and the needs of the people in the town is finally being heard and that's the most important message."
Dame Harriett also said she's held an 'emergency meeting' with the EA's chief executive and government floods minister to stress the importance of flood protection work being carried out.
She confirmed the talks had been "positive" and welcomed progress which could see individual property-level protection funded for delivery next year.
An Environment Agency spokesperson said it "remains committed to improving flooding resilience in the Tenbury Wells area" and "no final decisions have yet been made on funding allocations for any projects for the next financial year".
It added: "These reports are based on initial allocations only for 2026/7, given by the Environment Agency to Regional Flood and Coastal Committees for them to consider before consent is given for schemes to go ahead" and "several steps will be taken before allocations are finalised early next calendar year, including scrutiny and review by the elected members of the English Severn and Wye (ESW) Regional Flood and Coastal Committee.”