North Yorkshire Town "desperate" to see flood defence project go ahead
Today marks 9 years since heavy rain caused major damage across the County
People in one North Yorkshire Town say they're still haunted by the devastating flooding that happened when the bridge collapsed.
It's exactly nine years since homes and businesses were severely damaged in Tadcaster.
The Environment Agency is running a consultation multi million pound flood defences.
Kirsty Poskitt is a Councillor in Tadcaster and is urging everyone to have their say.
"We're on the knife edge with this. If this doesn't go through, we won't get this opportunity again. You know, the funding does time out. We do have an allocated period of time to spend that funding. So it's really important that we get this through."
"Tadcaster is a really interesting place and it's a very linear town. If we flood on Bridge St and Commercial St, people can't get through at all. They can't access businesses, they can't get through. So essentially our whole town shuts down. What the flood alleviation scheme will give us is much better protection from those kind of catastrophic floods.
"It means we can start to rebuild the town, get new businesses in, people that will be able to get flood insurance. So we really do see it as the first step to the regeneration of Tadcaster."
Karl Ickeringill, Environment Agency Project Manager, said:  
"We understand the devastating impact flooding has had on people in Tadcaster, which is why reducing flood risk is our top priority.
"We have been working as fast as we can to develop a scheme which offers the best possible level of flood protection and is able to withstand the extreme weather, we are likely to experience more frequently due to climate change.  
The Environment Agency aims to start construction during Spring 2025, following planning approval. The work is expected to take around 2 years to complete.
You can find out more about the scheme here