Colchester Haven Road flooding needs short-term fix, campaigner says

Heavy rain on Wednesday evening saw Distillery Pond and Bourne Mill exceed capacity, with water then flowing down towards Haven Road.

When the River Colne reached high tide shortly before 2pm on Thursday afternoon, the notorious trouble spot flooded once again, leaving motorists ploughing through deep water, with some drivers making U-turns to avoid damaging their vehicles.

Shaun Boughton, a town councillor for the Hythe and member of the Hythe Taskforce, explained how the problems unfolded.

He said: “The water started surging from the Albany Garden development.

“The water then backed up further within the system and spilling out elsewhere.

“We need to assess whether the water is tidal water or stream flow.”

Councillor Mike Lilley, another member of the Hythe Taskforce, criticised a lack of willingness from the authorities to fund solutions to the Hythe flooding, saying not enough pressure was being applied by anyone except those in the taskforce.

He said: “The current situation is the same as it’s always been - talk, talk and more talk.

“We did have a meeting a couple of months ago and even Will Quince was showing his frustration at action that’s been taken.”

Mr Lilley said there were two available options - one which involved pumping excess water towards the marshland on the Rowhedge trail and another, more expensive option which would involve installing a drainage tank with the capacity to take up surface water.

Both proposals, Mr Lilley said, had not been helped by the fact County Hall had shown what he described as a lack of willingness to engage with the discussions.

He continued: “All this is evidence that we need a short-term solution put in place which will help the businesses in the Hythe and the motorists going through the Hythe.

“In the meantime, we feel that we are not being listened to and there’s nobody higher up than us applying any pressure whatsoever.

“We want a short-term solution put in place.”