Three flood-prone roads to be part of £150k study

Mill Lane in Little Paxton, which had to be closed four times last year, will be studied in the report

Three flood-prone roads have been granted £150,000 for an assessment to be carried out into the causes and solutions.

Cambridgeshire county councillors voted in favour of the study into three roads - Mill Lane in Little Paxton, the A1123 at Earith and the B1040 at Whittlesey.

At a meeting on Tuesday, they dismissed an alternative option to spend £250,000 on a study for Mill Lane in Little Paxton only, which was closed four times last year due to flooding.

Instead, councillors agreed to allocate £100,000 for short-term flood measures at Mill Lane, with the rest spent on the study.

Little Paxton residents described Mill Lane as a vital through-road

The council recommended the second option because it said it would get better value for money.

Mill Lane is an important link between St Neots, Little Paxton and the A1, but has been closed for 23 days last year due to rainfall and repair works.

During the closure, residents needed to take a 7.2-mile (11.6km) diversion via the A1.

In October, work to repair 200 sqm of damaged road, which had washed away, cost the council £15,000.

Richard Tomlinson, vice chair of Little Paxton Parish Council, said Mill Lane was "vital" to the community, adding: "When it floods, residents, businesses and emergency services suffer."

Stephen Ferguson, an independent county councillor in St Neots, said: "We're talking about a major road crossing in the middle of the biggest town in the county."

The A1123 at Earith and B1040 at Whittlesey are also known to flood.

'Early concept ideas'

Experts think Mill Lane flooded due to multiple reasons, including high groundwater levels and water building up in a nearby counterdrain while river levels were high.

A report presented to councillors ahead of the meeting suggested a number of "early concept ideas" to tackle flooding, including adding another sluice nearby to store flood water and structural repairs to one of its bridges.

The authority said the cost of the short term measures being considered had "yet to be fully developed".

Alex Beckett, chair of the council's highways and transport committee, said it was important for the authority to spend its money wisely.

"We should be complementing the work already being carried out in the area, looking at historic flood data and helping other roads affected by flooding such as in Earith and Whittlesey," he said.

The report is expected to take 12 months to complete.