Flooding risks in South Hams will be re-assessed as councillors approve plans to target essential flood improvements in high-risk areas across Devon and “increase the resilience of several communities.”

The Devon County Council Flood Risk Management action plan 2019/20 included many schemes already underway or due to start this year including surface water improvements in Ivybridge as well as major flood management construction work in Modbury.

The plan also details funding for investigation, surveys and studies to be carried out to progress designs for future schemes.

These include hydraulic modelling for Kingsbridge.

The work at Modbury was started in February 2018 and has now largely been completed. Tucker Brook has a new 18 foot high dam and new trees and landscaping have been added to complement nearby Millennium Meadow.

A further 2 dams have been built and several culverts enlarged. Chairman of Modbury Parish Council Bernard Taylor said: “This is something Modbury has been waiting for for a long time and we are very pleased”.

Cllr Roger Croad, Devon County Council’s cabinet member for the environment, said:

“Our prioritised approach to flood risk management and collaborative working with other Risk Management Authorities is successfully reducing flood risk to some of the most vulnerable areas in the county. We are committed to implementing measures to reduce flood risk to communities across Devon and we will continue to work to maximise funding to make a real difference to our residents through individual flood improvement schemes and community resilience support.”

According to Cllr Croad the DCC will be spending £250k on works in and around Ivybridge.

Cllr Croad added: “As part of the investigations by DCC to better understand the level of flood risk in the Claymans Pathway/Slipperstone Drive area, Hangar Down north of Dinnaton was identified as a potential area of surface water runoff that exacerbated the flood risk. This was also confirmed through our discussions with local residents.”

“DCC is proposing to install a number of ‘leaky dams’ on Hangar Down, Ivybridge to slow the flow from the catchment thereby reducing the speed at which it arrives in the area of risk.”

Projected to start in late summer, flood alleviation works in the Claymans Pathway area are expected to reduce flooding risk to fifty residential properties. Advance works in Woodland Park commenced last week.

As part of the conclusion to the DCC plan Dave Black Head of Planning wrote: “The threat of flooding to individual properties and whole communities continues to be a high risk for the people of Devon and, with the effects of climate change and more extreme weather conditions, this risk is only likely to increase. The greatest threat of flooding to properties in Devon is from surface-water runoff, which is the specific responsibility of DCC as the Lead Local Flood Authority. It is, therefore, vital that the authority continues to act appropriately and invests in the ongoing programme of flood investigations and scheme delivery to reduce the number of properties at risk.”