£5.5m Mold flood protection plans to be looked at again

Mold flooded in November 2000 when the River Alyn burst its banks

Multi-million pound plans to stop flooding in a Flintshire town need to be looked at more closely, councillors have said.

Mold has a history of flooding and a report says 81 homes are still at risk.

Flintshire council shelved works to stop flooding last year after estimated costs spiralled to more than £12m.

The council is considering asking the Welsh Government for a grant for the £5.5m new scheme.

But members of the authority's scrutiny committee have said the new plans need to be scrutinised more closely before any bid for funding is made.

All local authorities are being asked by the government to submit applications for help funding major flood alleviation schemes.

The original plans would have seen a culverted bypass constructed to help divert floodwater to underground storage tanks at Ysgol Glanrafon.

But a report to go before Flintshire council on Tuesday said it would have cost in excess of £12m which was "unfeasible and unaffordable".

Consultants Waterco, commissioned by the council to look at more affordable options, have now come up with a new plan which would cost half that amount.

The plan could include building a new pipeline from Cae Bracty to Gas Lane while homes in Cae Bracty - which are "most at risk" - would have individual protection and pumps installed.