‘Veil of secrecy’ row over work on long-awaited flood defences

Work on the £1m flood defence project on the North York Moors above Pickering is due to start this summer, but there are mounting concerns that the scheme will not be completed ahead of the autumn.

Leading activists have now claimed that the construction of earth embankments to hold back up to 18m gallons of water from Pickering Beck could now be pushed back until the start of next year to avoid the winter weather.

Mike Potter, a member of the programme delivery group, accused the Environment Agency, which is overseeing the scheme, of a “veil of secrecy” over when work is due to start.

Mr Potter, who has lived in Pickering for the last 10 years, is the vice-chairman of the town’s civic society and the spokesman of the Ryedale Flood Research Group.

He said: “If I were managing this project, I’d move hell and high water to ensure it hits the ground running as soon as planning permission is granted, in order to make the most of ideal river levels and ground conditions.

“The Environment Agency appears very reticent about informing us about exactly when it plans to start the major works. It seems as though there is a veil of secrecy surrounding the whole project.

“I am supposed to be representing the local community on the programme delivery group, but I’m simply not able to tell people what is going on.

“If there are problems, I’d be open and honest with the community, who are the ones constantly at risk of flooding.”

Mr Potter also claimed that construction had been due to start last summer, although the Environment Agency refuted this and maintained that it is continuing to work to an original time scale.

However, the Yorkshire Post has learnt that a decision by North Yorkshire County Council over whether or not the defence project should be given planning permission has been pushed back until June.

The North York Moors National Park Authority met last month when it awarded planning permission for the flood defences, which are aimed at lessening the impact of all but the worst flooding disasters.

A decision from the county council, which is the strategic planning authority, had been expected in early May to rubberstamp the proposals. However, the Environment Agency confirmed yesterday that a decision from the council is now not expected until June 9.

A spokeswoman said: “We are still working to the same time scale and we are hopeful that work will commence in the summer.

“But there is always the risk of delays with any major project, and we do still need to secure planning approval from North Yorkshire County Council.”

Residents and businesses in Pickering have endured a series of major floods dating back as far as 1930, prompting a vocal campaign to improve protection for the market town.

But the long-awaited defence scheme to protect at least 65 homes and businesses has been blighted by major problems in recent months.

The Yorkshire Post revealed in February that the cost of building the embankments had escalated significantly due to concerns over the initial designs.

Engineers had voiced fears that the earth dams could actually have made major flooding events worse by holding back a large volume of water that could suddenly be released if the defences were breached.

The Environment Agency was forced to ask Ryedale District Council to provide another £150,000 on top of an initial budget of £800,000 after the plans had to be revised.

Councillors voted unanimously in March to provide the extra funding to ensure that the scheme remained on track.