PERMANENT flood defences will not be built to protect homes and businesses in a Worcestershire town because it is too complex and costly.

After Tenbury Wells succumbed to flooding for the fourth time in 15 months at the weekend, the Environment Agency said there were not enough benefits to justify the cost of building permanent defences around the town.

Liberal Democrat parliamentary candidate for west Worcestershire Richard Burt said flooding in Tenbury had reached "biblical proportions".

"Tenbury needs an injection of £5 million for permanent flood defences, and it should get it now," he said.

"Residents have a right to protection. People cannot be expected to live and work in permanent fear of when the next flood is coming."

An Environment Agency spokesman said officers conducted a study in November following last summer's floods, which affected about 150 properties in the town, to check the technical and financial viability of the project.

"For the length of the defence required to defend Tenbury and the complexity of building the defence there it would just be too expensive," she said.

"We have to justify the cost against the benefits for such a scheme and there aren't enough benefits there to balance it out."

The news comes after the agency agreed to spend at least £650,000 on an earth bund in Worcester that will protect 13 homes and several businesses along Hylton Road.

The spokesman said this weekend's flood, which affected shops and businesses in Market Street and Teme Street in Tenbury, came from Kyre Brook and not the river Teme.

She said the agency carried out tree maintenance work and removed blockages along the whole of Kyre Brook which took three months to complete.

Meanwhile, Conservative parliamentary candidate for west Worcestershire, Harriett Baldwin, called for the removal of a gravel bar under the southern arch of the bridge, the removal of the island downstream of the bridge, and trimming vegetation at selected sites both upstream and downstream of the bridge on the river Teme. The agency spokesman said that was being looked at.

Meanwhile, calls for the Environment Agency to build Upton-upon-Severn's permanent flood defences, which include the creation of a large bund to protect the New Street area, sooner rather than later have been reinforced.

Mayor Tim Perry said: "I would think even the Environment Agency would like to see that happen. It would save a lot of hassle."

The agency spokesman said: "We are looking into it but it will take as long as it takes. We need to make sure we have all of the information we need before we build something like that."

BLOB: Worcester's Mary Dhonau made a live appearance on ITV's This Morning to advise viewers about floods.

The Worcester Action Against Flooding chairman, and chief executive of the National Flood Forum spoke for 10 minutes about flood protection products available to people at risk of flooding, including air brick covers and anti back flow valves.

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