CALLS have been made for further work to be done in Boscastle to stop surface water flooding, following the most recent spate of adverse weather which left a number of homes and businesses in the village flooded.
North Cornwall MP, Dan Rogerson, has expressed his concern over the chaos created by the recent bout of severe hail and flooding.
The adverse weather caused major problems across parts of Cornwall and Devon. Surface water once again flooded homes and businesses near the main bridge in Boscastle, causing damage to property and further disruption to trade.
Mr Rogerson, who visited the village the day after the flood, said: "My thoughts are with the people affected by this awful situation. Although the new flood defence scheme will prevent all but the worst river flooding, it has become strikingly clear that more needs to be done to stop surface water problems. Last year's flood in similar circumstances should have been the last, and the Environment Agency and county council need to do more to prevent a further recurrence.
"There must be urgent work to upgrade the few problem culverts and frequent clearing of any debris. I have spoken to both the Environment Agency and the County Council and they have agreed that more must be done, and soon."
However, the Environment Agency has said that Boscastle's newly opened flood defence system performed well despite some properties being flooded.
Six properties suffered flooding as drains became blocked during storms early last Thursday.
Two fire brigade appliances from Delabole were called, and officers found that there had been moderate flooding to the properties due to a blocked storm drain. Crews assisted with clearing the drain.
The Environment Agency claimed that about a dozen properties would have been inundated without the £10million defences.
During the storms, tons of debris were washed down hills in the village, blocking newly-installed drains and forcing water to continue down, flooding the affected properties.
A number of Boscastle businesses said that their suggestions in preventing floods were ignored by officials.
Peter Templar, owner of The Riverside Hotel, told the 'Post' that at about 3am last Thursday, there was around two inches of water in the breakfast room, the reception area and also the lounge area.
In addition, three shops and three flats were flooded.
Mr Templar believes the flood defence work on the river and culverts has worked very well.
However, he holds the Environment Agency and North Cornwall District Council Highways responsible for the lack of a flood barrier at the south of the bridge.
"They've failed to listen to what we had to say about the south side of the bridge. We need a flood barrier there."
Mr Templar suggested that a cattle grid type defence would be sufficient, as the debris would be pushed to the front of the grid and the water would drain down the back of it into the Valency.
He felt that it would have cost the Environment Agency and the council a lot less money if they had incorporated it into the original village flood defence scheme, rather than now after it has been completed.
Mr Templar said he could guarantee that properties will continue to be flooded if there is a heavy downfall.
"How would they like to be, at 3am, called out, wondering whether their home or business has been flooded when you get not a massive amount of rain but a heavy downpour. Something needs to be done urgently. It's not going to stop, they haven't solved it."
The Environment Agency agreed that surface water remained a problem. Agency staff cleared tons of debris from the new culverts.
A spokesman said: "We are investigating the circumstances of this recent flooding incident to ascertain the exact events that caused the flooding to see if anything can be done."
The flood defences, which were officially opened earlier this month, were built in response to the major flooding the village experienced in August 2004.