A PUBLIC meeting will be held on Tuesday to ensure the next phase of a £6.5 million flood defence scheme for Bewdley starts on "the right foot".

Work is set to begin on installing the foundations for removable flood barriers along Severnside South next April.

Severnside North has been protected by the scheme since Monday, September 9, and Environment Agency project manager Roger Prestwood said emergency response exercises would be carried out over the next few weeks.

A spokesman for Bewdley Residents' Flood Committee said: "It is important to understand the proposals and the impact the works may have on the residents and businesses along Severnside South."

Disruption in Load Street caused by Severn Trent Water working on underground waste pipes as part of the first phases has illustrated the extent of the engineering work required by the scheme.

The public meeting, which will be at Bewdley Baptist Church at 7pm, will give the opportunity to "start things on the right foot" to avoid arguments like that between planners and residents over whether Severnside North should be pedestrianised as part of the scheme.

"Handled correctly the consultation exercise is a chance for the town to shape the future for its river frontage and to increase tourism," the spokesman added.

Dog Lane and the rest of Severnside North should be reopened by the end of the month.

Representatives from Wyre Forest District Council's planning department, English Heritage and Severn Trent Water will be at next week's meeting.

An exhibition of proposals will be in an Environment Agency display caravan by the bridge tomorrow and Saturday for anyone who cannot make it.

Meanwhile, the Bewdley-based National Flood Forum, which grew out of the residents' committee, is organising a national conference for communities at risk from flooding at York Racecourse on Monday, October 28.

Advice from the Association of British Insurers has also been passed on to residents urging people not to take "no" for an answer if they are refused cover.