Britford villagers submit plans to create flood defence bund

Britford, which is next to the River Avon, was left “nearly entirely underwater” after heavy rainfall in early-January, with depths reaching knee height in places.

The village is a flooding hotspot, but residents said this year’s was the worst they had seen in more than 40 years as a section of the river reached a record height.

Former dredging company boss Brian Wheeler used sand bags to protect his porch (Image: Salisbury Journal)Water entered eight properties in the village and persisted for five days, according to the village’s flood defence strategy. One of those homes remains unoccupied, and two have only been moved back into in recent weeks.

Access to a total of 21 homes and St Peter's Church was described as “hazardous and unsuitable for cars and people”.

This led to Britford Parish Council chairman Derek Finnis creating a flood group that has engaged with the Environment Agency, Wiltshire Council and Natural England.

Plans have now been submitted for a proposed flood defence on the northern boundary of the village on farmland to the north of Lower Road and Church Lane.

If the plans are approved, an earthen bund would be created.

The flood defence would be created on farmland to the north of Lower Road and Church Lane (Image: Google Maps)

This would be a raised, grass-covered bank of land that would stretch for around 495 metres and be approximately a metre tall and three metres wide.

The work would also see the installation of flow control to existing ditches and channels and penstock gates.

Mr Finnis says around £100,000 needs to be raised by the community to fund the scheme, but the parish council has submitted bids for grant funding.

Sections of Britford had knee-high floodwater at the start of the year (Image: Salisbury Journal)

He said the village does not qualify to receive money from the Environment Agency – which has otherwise been “very helpful” – because the defence would not protect the number of homes needed to meet their threshold.

“We had hoped, and we are still aiming, to do it for the current winter,” said Mr Finnis.

“We need it because of the devastating effect on the lives of the villagers and the expected worsening with future climate change. We’re future proofing.”

He described Lower Road as being “like a river” when the flooding hit last year, and said the village struggles to drain water because of its proximity to flood plains.

The bund would be built on land used for farming (Image: Newsquest) Under the Britford Flood Defence Strategy, residents hope the “public sector will assist the community” to support the work and “expedite the planning and approval process to enable to works to be completed prior to a third successive year of flooding”.

Mr Finnis said: “We can cope with day-to-day rainfall, but we can’t cope with the river levels rising.

“We’ve got to stop the village being overwhelmed for the third time.”

The junction of Lower Road and Church Lane, which was underwater in January (Image: Newsquest) A design and access statement says: “Flooding has become a regular occurrence over the years and is becoming more extreme in impact to the village and surroundings.

“Work on the bund installation will commence once all the grazing in the two affected fields has been completed.

“All works are designed to enhance the flood protection and resilience of the area in such a way as to blend in naturally to the existing landscape and utilising existing drainage connections throughout.”

You can view the proposals on the Wiltshire Council planning portal. The council is accepting comments until November 7. The application reference is PL/2024/08051.