WORK may start on a flood defence scheme for North Tawton as soon as April, a West Devon Borough Council official has confirmed.

Thanks to efforts by the borough council, which was one of the first to secure funding from MAFF (now DEFRA) for flood alleviation work, the planning process has been reduced from the usual three years to 18 months.

With planning permission now granted to construct flood walls abutting Taw Bridge and works including the diversion of a stream at North Street, a detailed design plan will now go before DEFRA which has agreed to contribute 55 per cent of the cost of the £750,000 project.

The borough council has agreed to underwrite the remaining costs but is hoping funds or work in kind will be offered by various other agencies including the Environment Agency.

The work will put an end to flooding misery in the town which has resulted from an antiquated sewerage system, flooding from the River Taw and town streams and surface run-off water from highways.

Following a survey commissioned by the borough council last year, the preferred option was to provide a flood wall at Mill Lane, channel improvements and a retention lagoon behind North Street.

The flooding situation was made worse by silt collecting under the bridge near Mill Lane Cottages but this silt has now been cleared out by the council which has pleased residents.

Borough environmental services officer Nick Payne said he was aware that things were not happening as quickly as everyone would like but it would normally take a lot longer.

'Most schemes take three years in the planning but we could be starting work in less than half that time,' he said. 'Getting the planning consent is an important part of the process and now we can press on to the next stage.'

Mr Payne said in the past local authorities and other agencies had a discretionary power to resolve flooding issues. But he said they tended to shy away from it unless there was some overwhelming economic or community interest, however the tide was changing.

'It became clear to this authority a long time ago that nobody was going to grasp the nettle to get something done in North Tawton,' he added. 'We felt if we stood back the residents would be condemned to regular flooding which would in turn have a devastating effect on the economy. North Tawton is a very important employment town and we could not afford to see it blighted by flooding problems.'

Mr Payne said one of the things the borough council would be pressing for was the designation of the River Taw as a main river, which would mean the Environment Agency would be responsible for it and any future work.

'It's a bizarre system because little streams like the one at Harberton Ford are designated as main rivers yet in North Tawton, where the river is quite wide, it is not,' he said.

One resident at Mill Lane cottages, Pauline Willis, said she was pleased that finally the council had cleared the river of trees and silt which had caused a blockage and inevitable flooding.

'It had been building up and over the past three years water had come in over the back to flood our properties,' she said. 'It has made a vast amount of difference.'