ACTION could be taken in Stoke Prior to stop future flooding after villagers had their homes deluged with water.

At a public meeting last Wednesday night around 30 residents packed into the village hall, in Hanbury Road, to get answers about the recent floods.

Residents in five cottages in Hanbury Road had water cascading through the front and back doors in the flood on July 20 and other homes and businesses in the village were affected.

Stoke Parish Council chairman, Thelma Roll, who acted as a resident, co-ordinated the meeting which was attended by British Waterways, Bromsgrove district councillor John Tidmarsh and David Hammond, district council head of planning and environment services.

British Waterways assets and programme manager Sally Phipps said the authority took proactive action on the day, but due to exceptional events water came over the lock gates.

"We could not stop water coming into the canal. It is not designed for that kind of weather and that amount of water. The situation was caused by the unprecedented volume of water and we did everything possible to minimise the flooding to residents and businesses," she said.

British Waterways has said Stoke Prior experienced extremely heavy rainfall in a short period of time. This caused two streams, which run under the Worcester and Birmingham Canal, to over-top causing large volumes of water to rush into the canal. This situation was further exacerbated by surface run off from the local business parks. The result of this excess of water was to cause the canal to burst its banks causing flooding in Hanbury Road.

At the meeting concerns raised by residents included debris in the River Salwarpe including tyres and pallets, silting in the canal, water coming out of the nearby Severn Trent works building, building on the flood plains and the cleaning of drains. Mrs Roll said where Metal and Ores Industrial Estate is now based, was called the Pony Field.

"This was where all the water went, it was a flood plain. Before Saxon Park that land was always wet, even in summer. Now all these business parks have been built and there is nowhere for the water to go. We have been covered over with concrete."

Mr Hammond said the site was allocated in the local plan so it became an employment zone, so that was why it was built up.

One businessman, based on the Harris business park, said there was three foot six inches of water in his building.

"When I bought the building I was not made aware of previous flooding. We were lucky because we could continue as a business as we had a first floor, but we are still drying out. I intend to identify the problem so this doesn't happen again."

Navigation Inn licensee Paul Fisher, whose outbuildings and cellar were affected, asked British Waterways why paddles were closed on the canal near the Black Prince, which contained the water.

Sally Phipps said this was because it would've caused flooding downstream so a decision was taken to compound the problem.

Mrs Roll will now write to Mr Hammond regarding the flooding and he will act as co-ordinator for this issue and organise a meeting and advise accordingly.

l A meeting is being held on Saturday, October 6, from 3-8pm, for people affected by the flood concerning the River Salwarpe. It will be held at The John Corbett Room, Droitwich Community Hall, in Heritage Way, Droitwich Spa.