Important Flood Prevention Work Still Not Finished

11.05.09am GMT Fri 27th Mar 2009

Nearly two years after the disastrous July 2007 floods swamped large parts of Thatcham, much of the flood prevention work proposed by the Council's own Overview and Scrutiny Commission has still not been carried out. "This worrying situation came to light at Tuesday's meeting of the O & S Commission," commented David Rendel, one of North Thatcham's District Councillors.

"One of the reasons local residents were most angry after the floods was that it became clear that West Berkshire Council had failed to put enough resources into keeping drains and ditches clear. Yet now nearly two years on they are telling us that they have not yet started work on clearing many ditches, or even on finding out who is responsible for doing so.

"It is totally unfair to leave residents in fear every time there is a significant rainstorm. A two-year wait before the work is even started demonstrates once again how lackadaisical this Conservative administration is, and how little they care about keeping the public safe."