A SHORT-term fix for North Tawton's flooding problems was given major priority by members of West Devon Borough Council this week.

The council's environment and health committee agreed to support a bid of £35,000 for flood relief work in the authority's 2000 capital programme.

A decision on the bid will be made in early July but a council official said this week he was 'optimistic' that the money would be forthcoming.

The sum of £20,000 will fund a feasibility study to identify the different causes of the flooding problems and who is responsible and a further £15,000 will be used to carry out remedial works in order for the Environment Agency to bring forward the River Taw flood alleviation scheme and protect the eight properties at serious risk.

The news was greeted with delight by North Tawton Town Council which has been battling to get some action since the flooding crisis in the town last Christmas which left many residents homeless.

Chairman of the town council John Kinsey said: 'This is very good news and a major step forward.

'I hope now we can work with West Devon and the other authorities to get things happening as quickly as possible.'

Heavy rain over the Christmas period meant some residents were flooded twice and Mr Kinsey said people had been unable to return to their home for four of five months because of the damage that had been caused.

'Every time it rains there is great concern amongst the people who have already been flooded,' he said.

'There is no one cause to the problem and that is why we need a feasibility study so we can find out who is responsible for what.'

The town council feared that a contribution from the borough council would not be forthcoming until 2001.

Head of building services at the borough council Roger Collins said: 'The bid stands a reasonable chance of being successful being a health and safety issue.'

'It has been given high priority and looks optimistic — it certainly stands a much better chance this year than next year.'

Mr Collins told the committee the town had a long history of flooding and it was a very complex issue because there were a whole variety of localised flooding problems.

'There have been about 20 properties that have suffered some sort of flooding.' he said. 'While the council has no obligation to provide a flood relief scheme, the local authority is the only organisation with the political will and resources to resolve the problem in the short term.'

West Devon and Torridge MP John Burnett, who has joined the fight for action after meeting flood victims recently, said he was very pleased with the committee's decision.

'I have met with the borough council to stress the importance of resolving this dreadful problem and I support what they have done,' he said.

'I am also in contact with the Environment Agency because I want to ensure that they take full responsibility of their duties at North Tawton.'

He said one of the reasons for flooding in the past was a significant amount of new development had taken place in North Tawton and there was not the infrastructure in place to cope with it.