Ruthin floods: Two-thirds of funding for defences found

Flooding devastated homes on the Glasdir estate in Ruthin last November

Work on new defences to prevent a repeat of flooding which devastated a Denbighshire estate is expected to start this year.

Denbighshire council and building firm Taylor Wimpey will meet two-thirds of the cost to help protect the Glasdir estate in Ruthin.

More than 120 homes were hit when the River Clwyd overflowed last year.

The council said it was waiting to see if the Welsh government would provide the last third of the £300,000 needed.

However, work will start anyway and is expected to be completed in March next year.

In September a report by independent investigators said blocked culverts had led to the flooding.

The report said screens around the culverts on the estate were poorly designed and did not comply with recognised standards.

The council was not blamed but it said lessons must be learnt.

Hundreds of homes in nearby St Asaph were also flooded when the River Elwy burst its banks.

Councillor David Smith, the cabinet lead member for environment, said the work to prevent a recurrence was an urgent priority, and he was not prepared to wait for the full funding to be in place before it could begin.

"Since publication of the investigation report, officers have undertaken further work to understand the costs and timescales for implementing [the] recommendation," he said.

"This analysis suggests the cost of works to increase the height of the flood defence bund would be in the region of £300k and that it could be in place by March 2014."

Mr Smith said the council and Taylor Wimpey had agreed to pay a third each of the cost.

"We have made a similar request of Welsh government," he said.

"We have yet to hear back from them however if they are also willing to contribute towards this much needed improvement.

"They have already made a commitment, through Natural Resources Wales, to improve defences in St Asaph for the benefit of local residents there."

He said the work was at the design stage but could be expected to start by December and completed in March next year.

"I am concerned that we have not yet had confirmation of funding from Welsh government but I am not prepared to allow this to delay the start of these works," he said.

The Welsh government has been asked to comment.