Flood disaster warning (From Stroud News and Journal)

Flood disaster warning

A LEADING environmentalist has warned Stroud could be the next town to feel nature's fury.

In the wake of the tsunami in the Indian Ocean and the floods in Carlisle, engineer Ossie Goring is flabbergasted at what he claims are ineffectual steps being taken to reduce the risk of flooding on Ebley Meadows.

But Stroud District Council, which passed the flood defences along with a major housing development, has vigorously denied any increased problem.

Coaley-based engineer Mr Goring has been among those lobbying the district council to take seriously the threat of flooding and claims flood-alleviation work currently underway is not enough.

He argues Ebley Mill should have taken a firmer a line, refusing permission to build on the floodplain and taken better measures to make it safer.

"It's appalling," he said. "They should have de-silted the river bed and made it a split-level channel. "An awful lot of money is being spent on what's more or less just cosmetic.

"If it was going to be done, it should have been done properly. "It will just be a shallow indentation in the ground. "It's going to cost a fortune and achieve very little.

Mr Goring said the only real way to deal with the risk was to use earthworks to tilt the meadows, clean the river out to an extra depth of 1.5 metres and get rid of a redundant mill downstream.

This, he said, would also cure the ongoing problem of overflowing sewers in the area. "Stroud is a disaster waiting to happen," he said.

Andy Read, who was ward councillor when the district passed the Ebley Wharf development and was a staunch opponent of the plan said: "It's total madness to build on the flood plain.

"It's messing about with nature. But council spokesman David Marshall said there was nothing wrong with the plans.

"The works which are now being undertaken were agreed with the Environment Agency at the time of the planning application and will have the effect of maintaining the flood plain's ability to cope with surplus water," he said. "The development won't effect the flood plains' ability to cope with water."