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Lincolnshire County Council ‘opposed’ decision to close Boston pumping station as flooding debate continues




The leader of Lincolnshire County Council says he was opposed to the decision to close a pumping station at the end of South Forty Foot Drain.

Concerns have been raised that homes and fields in the Billingborough, Pointon and Dunsby area may not have flooded recently if the Black Sluice Pumping Station, in Boston, had been operational.

Coun Martin Hill, who also represents Folkingham Rural on the county council, is now calling for an ‘inquiry’ to determine the causes of the recent flooding along with sorting out the solutions.

Martin Hill, leader of Lincolnshire County Council. Photo: James Turner
Martin Hill, leader of Lincolnshire County Council. Photo: James Turner

He said: “Since storm Henk, I have persuaded the county council to put an extra £6million into supporting flood defences and have been actively supporting local communities with flood issues.

“We opposed the decommissioning of the pumping station and noted that widening work on SFF which was recommended has never happened.

“There should be an inquiry into the latest events to establish the cause and potential remediation which would potentially include pumping arrangements.”

Gareth Davies
Gareth Davies

Bourne and Grantham MP Gareth Davies said it was ‘very sad’ to see the ‘awful flooding’ and has requested the EA to investigate the cause of the flooding.

He said: “I know that those who have been affected are understandably shocked and upset at the scale of the flooding, so it is right that we allow the responsible expert bodies, such as the Environment Agency, to properly investigate the cause and identify solutions to reduce our local flood risk into the future.

“In the meantime, I have also written to the Flooding Minister to ask what financial support the national Government will provide to those who have been affected, as the previous Government did for those flooded by Storms Babet and Henk.”

The Environment Agency disputes claims that the pumping station may have helped ease this month’s flooding issues.

‘30 homes could’ve been saved’

A pumping station which was closed seven years ago could have saved more than 30 homes from flooding, councillors say.

One said it was “soul destroying” to see water gushing into homes in Boston, which are just half a mile away from the decommissioned Black Sluice Pumping Station, writes Local Democracy Reporter Jamie Waller.

Water overflowed from the South Forty Foot Drain on January 6.

The area’s councillors have urged the Environment Agency to get the facility working again.

The organisation insists that it is no longer fit for use, but will look into available options.

Councillor Paula Ashleigh-Morris (Con) said: “Why couldn’t there have been a few pumps on stand-by? Then people would have been dealing with two inches of water, not two feet.”

She said flooding victims could see the closed pumping station from their upstairs windows.

The decision to close the facility in 2018 was made jointly by the Environment Agency, Black Sluice Internal Drainage Board, Lincolnshire County Council and Boston Borough Council.

Councillor Tom Ashton (Con), an enthusiast in this type of engineering, claimed the pumps had seen very little use and “could be operational tomorrow.”

“Our predecessors weren’t in the process of building pumping stations where they didn’t need them,” he said.

“It just needs to be maintained in a state where it can run, even if that’s only once every ten years.”

He said the pumping station was repeatedly successful in lowering dangerous water levels while in use.

Councillor Alison Austin (Ind) said: “The flooding was soul destroying. Settees and furniture were going straight into skips.

“It didn’t leave any of those properties untouched.”

Morgan Wray, area risk and coastal flood manager at the Environment Agency, said all the pumps were beyond “usable condition”.

“The pumping station was decommissioned a number of years ago, as it was getting very old and expensive,” he told the committee.

“It would be a big challenge to get enough funding together to reinstate that station.”

He told councillors other methods had been used to reduce flood risk to Boston, and said the Environment Agency would revisit the report to close it.

What do you think? Let us know your views in the comments below…



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