A Burnham-On-Sea resident has claimed that the town has missed out on having a new Tidal Barrier to reduce the risk of flooding which he believes was promised by the Environment Agency a decade ago.
Tony Lynham, pictured, spoke out about the issue at a recent Burnham and Highbridge Town Council meeting.
At the meeting, he claimed that, in 2014, the Environment Agency agreed to construct a Tidal Barrier at a cost of £44 million for Burnham and Highbridge, which would protect the areas from coastal flooding.
He told councillors: “We were promised one in 2014, and Section 106 funding was allocated to it when they drew up the plans for Highbridge, and what they put before the Treasury, including sea defences for the town.”
However, in a statement, the Environment Agency has said that “the 2014 announcement related to the Bridgwater Tidal Barrier.”
This scheme related to the Tidal Barrier approved in Bridgwater for a cost of £249million.
The Environment Agency says that for Burnham-On-Sea and Highbridge “there are no imminent plans for new defences as the sea wall and current defences provide a good standard of protection.”
Tony told councillors that he believes both areas need protection due to the risk from rising sea levels and potential flooding.
The EA has also applied for funding “to complete updated coastal modelling with revised climate change figures to reassess the risk along this stretch of coast and hopes to start work on this next year.”
The main coastal defence for the town is the sea wall, which was constructed in the 1980s following the damaging 1981 storm in Burnham-On-Sea.
The EA has confirmed that it is “inspected annually and is considered in good condition, providing a good standard of protection.”
