£40,000 to help Porthleven tackle flooding

The money will be spent at Methleigh Bottoms, where homes have flooded over a number of years during heavy winter rain.

Funding is coming from Defra and work is due to start over the next couple of months.

Cornwall Councillor Andy Wallis told Porthleven Town Council last week said the aim was to stop the flooding in that area.

He described the drains in that area as quite old and the money would be spent on cleaning them out, as blockages could be causing the flooding. In another part of the county workers had found a whole tree trunk blocking the drain.

There would also be work done looking up stream, from where debris flows down to the bottom.

“Therefore premises will not be at risk of flooding every time it rains. They have been flooded the last two years. Hopefully the residents won’t have to put so many sandbags out – or no sandbags at all,” he said.

Last winter Porthleven effectively became cut off for a short time, with the main road in closed for repairs and the bottom road impassable due to flooding.

Defra has previously awarded Cornwall Council more than £7.5 million, administered by the Environment Agency, to help repair the storm damage from last witner.

This money will be combined with the council’s own matched funding of just over £1.9 million and distributed to 67 sites in the county.

Mr Wallis wrote on his blog: “I am very pleased the Government has listen to the concerns I raised, along with residents and the council, and has awarded this money to address the problems along Methleigh Bottom.

“I would also like to praise my colleague Edwina Hannaford as the portfolio holder and the officers which pressured the Government for this money.”