DAMAGED WALL CAUSES FEARS FOR FLOOD VICTIMS
BY EMMA ATKINSON
EMMA.ATKINSON@GLOSMEDIA.CO.UK
09:00 - 04 June 2008
A Damaged wall in Saintbridge is causing
concern for victims of last summer's flooding.The brick wall
alongside the Sud Brook, off Cheyney Close, has been damaged and
residents say they fear that, if it collapses, water will flood
into their homes and gardens again.
Former Matson and Robinswood councillor Mike Smith, who lives in
the area, said he believes the land has become littered with
debris and any further blockages would cause a serious flood
risk.
"The roads all around the brook were severely flooded last year
and the wall is I'm sure about to collapse," he said. "If a
blockage was caused we would stand no chance at all. It is an
appalling mess.
Mr Smith said he called the Environment Agency but had heard nothing about any work being planned.
He said: "I think it is the responsibility of the owner to fix the wall but I called the Environment Agency so I could show them the problem and see what they could do but they did not come back to me."
An EA spokesman said the owners of the land are responsible for maintaining the wall but they were checking their data base to see if they had any information concerning the wall.
She said: "We welcome people bringing it to our attention. We will be finding out who the owner is and provide any help we can in what to do with the situation and advise what may need to be done. It is not our job to rebuild the wall but in an emergency we would go out and remove any blockages to protect the community."
She said the Rivers Officer would be looking into the situation further but also advised anyone who lives on or near a waterway to read the advice, called Living on the Edge, by logging on toa href="http://www.environment-" target="new" class="lblue"www.environment-/aagency.gov.uk