Horncastle flood investigation findings due in new year

Parts of Horncastle saw significant flooding as a result of Storm Babet

The full findings of an investigation into the failure of a flood protection scheme will not be published until the new year, the Environment Agency said.

About 80 homes were flooded in Horncastle during Storm Babet after up to two months of rain fell in 24 hours.

A sluice gate did not automatically operate as it should have, a spokesperson for the agency said.

Officials acknowledged the failure was likely to have impacted some properties in the town.

The multimillion-pound Horncastle flood alleviation scheme, operated by the EA, consists of a single flood storage reservoir on the River Bain, upstream of Horncastle.

The scheme, which was completed in 2017, uses land owned by farmer John Harrison, who told the BBC that during Storm Babet water was flowing back into the river rather than being stored in the reservoir.

The flood alleviation scheme for Horncastle is supposed to prevent flooding

At a meeting of Lincolnshire County Council's flood scrutiny committee on Monday, the agency acknowledged the failings.

Morgan Wray, from the EA, said: "What we do know is that the sluice gate did not operate automatically as it should, and we know the flood scheme didn't store as large a volume of water as it was designed to.

"That is likely to have impacted some properties near the River Bain."

Mr Wray said the agency hoped to release its initial findings in late November, but added it was likely to take longer for the full findings to be published due to the requirement for "technical work" to be carried out.

He expected the full findings to be published early in 2024.

The committee was also told the recovery operation from Storm Babet across Lincolnshire would cost more than £35m.

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