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Residents to question agency over floods

Paul Murphy
Environment Correspondent
BBC Jayne Keeley is wearing a red/orange long sleeved top, has short brown hair and is wearing glasses. She is standing in a room surrounded by cardboard boxes containing possessions that are going into storage. A fireplace with a teal coloured chimney breast is on the left of the image.BBC
Jayne Keeley from Pointon near Billingborough has been flooded twice in the last year

Residents in Lincolnshire who were hit by flooding earlier this month will hold a public meeting to discuss the incident with the Environment Agency (EA) later.

Up to 140 homes in the county suffered internal flooding on the 6 and 7 January during heavy rainfall.

The meeting in Billingborough follows claims from the Black Sluice Internal Drainage Board that the decommissioning of a pumping station at Boston had contributed to damage across the county.

The EA said it does not believe its decision to shut the facility made a significant difference.

A flooded street which shows water covering the road and gardens of the surrounding properties. A man wearing green wellies, blue jeans and green jacket is wading through the water on the left of the image. He is looking at the house which is surrounded by water and has two black cars parked outside.
More than a dozen homes in the village of Billingborough suffered flood damage

Jayne Keeley who was flooded on 6 January had only just restored her home in Pointon after it was flooded 12 months ago.

"My new carpet went down three months ago and here we are, in the same position again, my home is under 4 inches of water," she said.

Jayne is one of a number of residents in her community calling for greater investment in flood defences and pumps.

"I think the main issue is proper maintenance further afield on the Forty Foot Drain and the pumps at Boston."

An aerial image of a waterway and pumping station in Boston, Lincolnshire. The red brick building stretches across the water and is surrounded by green floats. A number of houses and industrial buildings are visible in the distance.
The Environment Agency said it could not justify the cost of repairing a pumping station at Boston

The pumping station at Boston was closed by the EA in 2013 after it was damaged during a tidal surge and repairs were considered too expensive.

Daniel Withnall, chief executive of the Black Sluice Internal Drainage Board, said the closure had contributed to flooding in Boston but also had "secondary impacts" in villages upstream including Billingborough.

Mr Withnall said it was "critical" the closure decision was reassessed.

"We remain fully supportive of the Environment Agency and the vital work it does," he added.

A drone image of the South Forty Foot Drain in Lincolnshire. The water way is in the foreground of the image and can be seen approaching the gardens of several properties which are on the banks.
The South Forty Foot Drain overtopped following heavy rainfall leading to concerns from people living nearby

A spokesperson for the Environment Agency said: "A modelling study completed in 2015 predicted high flood risk in the South Forty Foot catchment, as was seen earlier this month during an extreme flooding incident.

"The operation of the Black Sluice Pumping Station was found to make only a small difference to this risk.

"A multimillion-pound refurbishment of the station could not be justified."

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