Uckfield campaigners have "mixed reaction" to end of nine year wait

The Environment Agency announced yesterday it would start building the high wall around the Somerfield car park in River Way in Spring.

The news comes at the end of more than two years of legal wrangling with the site's owners.

Claire Dowling, chairwoman of the Uck Valley Flood Forum, said: "It is a relief an agreement has finally been made but we have a mixed reaction to this.

"It's good news something is being done but some people remain unconvinced about what impact it will have."

She said there was concern the wall would simply deflect water away from the town centre towards housing in Olive's Meadow.

Mrs Dowling said: "We have been assured by the Environment Agency that this will not happen. They have carried out modelling and we have to accept their word but the reality is we will only know for sure when the wall is built and we are hit by the first flood."

She added that a campaign to get a small reservoir, or bund, built upstream in the River Uck would continue.

That project, expected to cost at least £4 million, has been projected to protect the town from almost all floods.

Campaigners have approached MPs, European agencies and the South East England Development Agency for funding but have been unsuccessful so far.

The Environment Agency said the wall would protect around 30 of the 130 properties devastated when the River Uck burst its banks amid torrential rain in October 2000.

On that occasion lifeboats had to be brought in to rescue people marooned in the high street.

News of the £600,000 wall has been released during a week where the town experienced more flooding. On Monday the river spilled out onto its flood plain but not beyond.

The agency said Uckfield had flooded on at least nine occasions in the past 50 years. It said the wall would have protected the town from seven of those.

In 2004 it built a scale model of the town which it used to test different flood defence options.

Andrew Pearce, Sussex area manager for the Environment Agency, said: “People living in Uckfield know only too well how devastating a flood can be.

"Building this wall is the only option currently available to us to reduce flood risk in the town. So we are delighted to be able to confirm that we are now ready to go ahead with this scheme that will reduce flood risk to those people and properties that have sadly had to deal with flooding in the past.”

He admitted the wall would not prevent all floods.

Mr Pearce said: "Uckfield has been developed within a floodplain. This scheme reduces the risk but doesn’t solve the problem.

"We can’t prevent Uckfield from flooding and we will look for proposals for the redevelopment of Uckfield as part of the long term planning for the town to make space for flooding and reduce the number of properties at risk."