Flood campaigners vow to keep fighting

Parish councillors this week welcomed news of the latest phase of works, which could get underway by the end of this year.

But Robin Small, of the Nafferton Flood Watch group, told the authority’s meeting on Wednesday there were still a number of areas of concern around the village.

He said: “We want to make sure the whole of the village is protected, not just Nethergate and Station Road, and we’ll be pushing for it until it’s sorted out.”

Mr Small said ‘significant progress’ has already been made to tackle flooding problems in the village, following ongoing discussions between them, parish and county councillors, East Riding of Yorkshire Council and Yorkshire Water.

He said funding was in place for the Nethergate Attenuation Scheme, which will see a new drainage ditch created on the eastern side of the road from opposite the pumping station.

The scheme is designed to take water across fields and under the railway line to link up with the Nafferton Highland drain.

The meeting heard negotiations were continuing with rail authorities about clearing a gully, but Mr Small said it is hoped work could start within the next two or three months.

Coun Cliff Horsman praised the scheme, telling the meeting: “I think the idea is brilliant.

“It’s going back to what it was and there were no problems, but why is it going under the railway?”

Mr Small replied: “It will go exactly where it used to do.”

Meanwhile, as previously reported, both the Nethergate and Station Road pumping stations have been included in Yorkshire Water’s investment programme for the next five years.

And Mr Small called for the authority to press both the company and water regulators for brand new stations, rather than upgrades of the existing facilities.

He also raised a number of other areas of concern, including the potential impact of housing developments in the Station Road area of the village.

He said there were worries that the forthcoming Nunings development could overload the Station Road pumping station without swift improvements.

A number of other hotspots have also been identified in the village, including parts of Westgate, Lowthorpe Lane and the north end of Nethergate.

And Mr Small called for the parish council to make progress on a long proposed village-wide flooding survey, which he said could be used to inform emergency planning procedures.

Elsewhere, the group have called for regular cleaning of a drainage ditch on the west side of Nethergate and for works to improve the drains at the north end of the village, where water is said to be going into homes instead of draining normally.

And the group have also proposed that portable emergency pumps should be purchased for the village, as they already have been in Hutton Cranswick.

Mr Small suggested the issue could be considered when the authority’s precept for the next financial year is set later in the year.