King's Somborne resident concerned with River Bourne vegetation

Pamela Rumbold raised the issue about the River Bourne in King's Somborne.

The 79-year-old, of Scott Close, has lived in the village all her life and said: “It's very bad, I've never seen it this bad. It's very important to residents, something needs to be done about it.”

The river at the junction of the A3057 and Old Vicarage Lane, is currently dry, but Mrs Rumbold is concerned the vegetation could lead to flooding. The village had bad flooding in 2014.

Graham Searle, from King's Somborne Parish Council, said: “The summer has been quite dry, but it could be more of a flood risk if there is heavy rain in the autumn and winter.

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“The Environment Agency is responsible for it, but Hampshire County Council is the local lead flood authority. 

“I can understand why residents are concerned. It's not a problem at the moment but it could be in the future. 

“Climate change means the seasons are not as predictable as they used to be. Hampshire County Council should have a management plan on how it will be managed going forward.

“The parish council is working hard to monitor it, but we don't have the budget to manage it ourselves.”

A spokesman for Hampshire County Council said: “The watercourse through the village is classed as a main river and, therefore, the regulatory authority is the Environment Agency. However, the county council works collaboratively with partners including the Environment Agency to minimise the risk of flooding across Hampshire. 

“In the light of residents’ concerns, we will check the extent of any vegetation that may be growing on any publicly maintainable roads and pavements that run through the village and border the watercourse and, where necessary, we will arrange clearance. Where areas alongside the watercourse are in private ownership, the responsibility for keeping vegetation in check, rests with the private landowner.” 

An Environment Agency spokesman said: “Specialist officers carry out regular maintenance of the Somborne Stream and other rivers around Hampshire throughout the year, cutting back vegetation and clearing blockages that might increase the risk of flooding. This includes checks made in preparation for heavy rain.

“Our teams also assess any reports of debris phoned into our incident hotline on 0800 807060 by the public. Where appropriate, officers will remove anything that may increase flood-risk. 

“Anyone can check their flood-risk and get useful advice on how to prepare for or react to flooding, either from Floodline on 0345 988 1188 or at www.gov.uk/flood.”

The Environment Agency confirmed they would be cutting the vegetation in the next couple of weeks.