Datchet Parish councillor says flood money is of 'no use at all'
A grant of £60m to help fund a scheme to prevent flooding in the Datchet and Wraysbury areas will be 'of no use at all' in the short term, according to a parish councillor.
The funding was earmarked for the Lower Thames Scheme as part of the government's Autumn Statement on Wednesday.
However, the money to increase the capacity of the Thames will not be provided until 2021.
Cllr Ian Thompson, flood spokesman for Datchet Parish Council, said money for flood defences was needed now.
"It's going to be no help to us at all in the short term, we need flood defences put in place and the expenditure immediately to improve the flood defences here in Datchet," he said.
"It's going to be another 10-15 years before the section that relates to Datchet is up and running which means basically we are not protected in that time scale."
Datchet, Wraysbury and parts of Old Windsor suffered the worst flooding since 1947 in January after whole villages were submerged in water and many households were flooded.
Cllr Thompson added: "We're not saying a huge amount of money here. We want small sums we can use for improved flood defences and they can be meaningful.
"I do support the Lower Thames Scheme but we have to consider what we can do in the meantime."
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