Feniton flood plan set for approval

Numerous delays have since hit phases 3 and 4.

A vital plan to protect Feniton from flooding looks set to finally go ahead – but will cost £2m more than initially planned.

The first two phases of the flood alleviation scheme for the village were completed back in 2016, but numerous delays have since best the project.

But East Devon District Council’s cabinet, when they meet on Wednesday, February 4, are being asked to sign off on a timetable for the final two phases.

Phase 3 requires an undertrack crossing of the Exeter to Waterloo rail line and is set to take place in May during a planned 52 hour weekend track closure. Phase 4, the construction of the remaining culverted sections of the scheme, would follow in 2021.

The report of Tom Buxton-Smith – Engineering Projects Manager, and Andrew Hancock – Service Lead, StreetScene, to the cabinet, says that the current the project budget is insufficient to complete both Phase 3 and Phase 4 without further applications for Central Government grant money, but that further delays would only add additional costs to the scheme.

It adds: “This project will benefit more than 70 properties in Feniton as well as providing relief from the anxiety of the ever present flood risk. Much time and effort has gone into securing the May 2020 UTX, and delaying this will add additional cost to the project. There are no other possession dates available in 2020, and dates for 2021 have not yet been planned.

“The risk to EDDC is that Phase 3 is built, and if Phase 4 is not funded, the project has wasted £770,000 for an unconnected culvert under the railway, and offering no flood risk reduction to Feniton.”

But they recommend that the cabinet should agree to proceed with the delivery of Phase 3 of the flood alleviation scheme in May 2020 and that Phase 4 of the flood alleviation scheme be scheduled for delivery in 2021/22, to allow sufficient time to apply for further Government grants and plan and procure the project for a summer construction.

The report adds: “To date, the project has cost more than originally anticipated, and future costs are higher than the original approved Project Appraisal report. The original total project cost was £1.7m. The revised total project cost is £3.7m. Therefore the project increase is £2m.”

For the phase 3 railway closure, the cabinet are recommended to approve going with an ‘emerging cost option’ in which they council will pay the actual price for the work delivered, rather than a fixed price with additional risk costed in. This is priced at £767,035, rather than the £1,002,094 fixed price option, and could reduce if there is more works planned on the line and so East Devon’s share decreases, but could increase is the works overrun.

Phase 4 has recently been re-priced by a contractor at £1.52million, which is over double the original budget price, the report says, but adds: “Phase 4 is required to complete the scheme, and without it, the majority of the properties at flood risk, remain at risk.”

There is a current funding deficit of nearly £1.5m to complete the remaining two phases of the scheme, but the report says they assume Environment Agency funding to enable to Phase 3 works in May to go ahead will be approved, and they will know before the cabinet meeting, while as long as additional grant money has been approved by central government, Phase 4 during 2021/22 will be delivered.

Recommending the schemes go ahead, the report says: “The largest risk is that EDDC commit to Phase 3, and no additional money is found to complete Phase 4. Leaving EDDC with an expensive unused asset under the railway, with no reduction in flood risk to the residents of Feniton, or the need to fund an additional £1.4m ourselves.

“Should Phase 3 not happen in May 2020, the largest risk is reputation damage, but it will also incur further abortive costs from Network Rail, and they need confirmation on proceeding with Phase 3 by mid/end February to enable mobilisation of their contractors to meet the possession window.

“A land owner has had part of his orchard felled to allow Phase 3 and 4 to go ahead. Delaying the scheme means he cannot replant trees until the scheme is complete, which means further compensation may be due for every year no scheme is built.

Committing to Phase 3 now means we are committing to phase 4 at a later date, the report says, but the cabinet are recommended to go ahead with the scheme under the new timetable.

Flooding hit Feniton back in 2008 left the village as “unpassable” and many residents were unable to leave their houses due to the river of floodwater running past their homes. There were also several landslides in the area.

The medieval St Andrew’s Church in Feniton Old Village was left under two feet of water, as were homes in the village centre.

Front gardens of houses were littered with flood-damaged white goods, furniture, books, a caravan and more.