Ceredigion floods: 'Not enough action' to prevent repeat in Talybont

Emergency services rescued people trapped in their homes in Talybont during the flooding in June 2012

Not enough action is being taken to prevent a repeat of floods that forced villagers to flee their homes in Ceredigion, says an assembly member.

People were left homeless when a month's worth of rain fell in 24 hours on 8 and 9 June last year.

Ceredigion AM Elin Jones said she was concerned about the lack of prevention work in Talybont, near Aberystwyth.

Natural Resources Wales (NRW) said it had been working to make the village more resilient to flooding.

Aberystwyth, Talybont, Dol-y-Bont, Penrhyncoch and Llandre were among the areas affected by the rising water in June last year.

Parts of north Ceredigion had 5ft (1.5m) of standing water, with caravan parks, homes and businesses all suffering from the effects of the torrential rain.

Many of those who had to leave their flood-hit houses stayed in temporary accommodation for up to 10 months.

But more than a year after the deluge, Ms Jones said there were serious concerns in Talybont that needed addressing.

"Residents in Talybont will be concerned at the lack of action by Natural Resources Wales to prevent a repeat of the damage caused by the floods," said the Plaid Cymru AM.

"I'm very pleased that work is being done in Capel Bangor, Llanbadarn and Dol-y-Bont, and that bridges have been repaired in Trefeurig. But it's disappointing that more hasn't yet been done in Talybont.

'Resilient'

"There are serious concerns which need addressing, for instance with the capacity of the main A487 road bridge to cope with flood water.

"The floods of last year are still very much alive in the memories of those affected and I will continue to scrutinise the Welsh government to ensure that all reasonable measures are taken."

Phil Pickersgill from NRW said action was being taken in Talybont.

"Since the devastating flooding that affected so many people in Ceredigion in June 2012, we've been working closely with our partners and the local community in Talybont to make the area more resilient to flooding in the future," he said.

"As part of this, we've provided residents with individual flood gates for their homes, helped them develop a community flood plan and establish a network of voluntary flood wardens.

"We're also currently looking at options to install a site-specific flood warning service for the village.

"We can't always prevent flooding from happening but we want to reassure local people in Talybont that we'll continue to work with them to reduce the risk of flooding in the future."

The bill for repairing damaged roads and bridges following the severe flooding cost Ceredigion council more than £500,000.