Village flood assurances sought 'before another travesty'

Homes and roads were flooded in Dinas Powys

Villagers have demanded reassurances that flooding which devastated more than 100 homes over Christmas cannot happen again.

People in Dinas Powys, Vale of Glamorgan, said gullies were blocked, causing the River Cadoxton to overflow.

But Natural Resources Wales (NRW) said it was due to the wettest December for 70 years.

It has begun a joint investigation with the Vale of Glamorgan council and Welsh Water.

The River Cadoxton is one of the shortest in Wales but when it burst its banks on 23 December, the damage was immense.

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More than 100 homes were flooded with many people having to move upstairs over Christmas.

Water poured through Wendy Gilligan's home

Wendy Gilligan, who lives in Greenfield Avenue, has a brook running behind her back garden.

Nearly all the homes on her side of the street saw a deluge of water cascade through and turn the street into a river.

"I was here up to my ankles in water, ripping up carpets - throwing out furniture - and I wasn't alone," she said.

"Just remember there's a pandemic going on. People's mental health is already on the edge. We've got enough going on in our lives without floods."

Many in the community said they saw blocked gullies and drains and believed that was the cause.

Ms Gilligan said: "We don't care who's to blame. We just want action now before another travesty happens which is going to be devastating to the community."

The council said it provided more than 1,300 sandbags to people hit by flooding, with a spokesman adding: "Excessive rainfall resulted in many drain gullies becoming partially or fully blocked with silt and debris.

"Also, a large number were unable to disperse floodwater as they feed into rivers and watercourses that were themselves overflowing."

"The council routinely cleans gullies, and this last took place on 15 December, just over a week before the heavy rainfall arrived.

"We are now allocating extra resources to inspect and, where necessary, cleanse all highway drainage in areas affected by flooding."

SKips were needed for the flood-damaged homes

Dinas Powys councillor Vince Driscoll said people rallied together to help in the post-Christmas clean-up and enlisted the support of their MP Alun Cairns, and Member of the Senedd Jane Hutt to help them get answers as to why it happened.

"We need improvements, we need clearing out the drains, - not in six months' time but tomorrow," he said.

"These people are going to bed at night wondering - if it rains - what's going to happen, and that's not fair on anybody."

Last year, a scheme to reduce the risk of flooding in Dinas Powys was drawn up by NRW.

However, it was not progressed due to a public outcry about the effect that a resulting dam would have on the ancient woodland.

Michael Evans, NRW's head of operations south Wales central, said: "Areas of south-east Wales saw the wettest December in more than 70 years and the rainfall leading to this flood event in the Vale of Glamorgan was very intense, including a four-hour period in which 45mm of rain fell.

"We are working with partner organisations to understand the behaviour of river flows and surface water that contributed to the flooding and, with the support of Welsh Government, we will continue our work with the community to identify options and implement measures to reduce the risk of flooding in Dinas Powys and Eastbrook."