ILMINSTER NEWS: Flooding report will be published before Christmas

A DETAILED report on how to stop Ilminster suffering severe flooding problems in the future will be published within four months.

Somerset County Council’s highways and transport spokesman, Cllr John Woodman (pictured above), attended Ilminster Town Council’s full meeting on Tuesday (August 15, 2017) where he was presented with a petition by local businesswoman Jean Pas asking for the authorities to take action in light of last month’s flooding which saw shops and homes suffer terrible damage following a torrential downpour where blocked drains could not cope with the torrent of water.

He told the meeting that the county council – which is responsible for flood management – would be carrying out a “thorough investigation” into the issues.

But he said gully clearing would be carried out as soon as possible and that he would look at the frequency of when that job was done.

The county council held a public drop-in session on Monday (August 14, 2017) at the Minster Rooms in Court Barton, Ilminster, for people to discuss the flooding problems.

Cllr Woodman said it had been a successful event with around 40 people attending to give their views.

“We will be doing a thorough investigation this year,” he said.

Cllr Linda Vijeh, who represents Ilminster at County Hall, later said: “The investigation will be a lengthy process, but we should have a report before Christmas with the findings, an action plan and possible solutions.

“The drop-in session was a very positive meeting and I think people felt they had been given ample opportunity to get their views across.”

Ilminster resident Jacqueline Purchase, of North Street, told the meeting that pressure still needed to be put on the authorities to get something done.

The Mayor of Ilminster, Cllr Val Keitch, said: “Trust me – we are not going to let this rest.”

And she added: “I’m heartened by the fact that the county council will be carrying out a full investigation into what happened.

“The drop-in session was positive and the council officers who were there along with representatives from the Environment Agency went away with a lot of information.”

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