AMERY Hill Residents’ Association chalked up an important and significant victory this week when a team of specialists turned up to dredge the River Wey at Cut Pound.

Contracted by East Hampshire District Council (EHDC), the team, dressed in dry suits, had the tricky job of shifting mud, silt and other debris from the Cut Pound culvert that runs underneath Alton Community Centre.

They also worked to reinforce the crumbling bank of the culvert, originally built in the mid-19th Century.

Carried out without the use of machinery, the aim of the exercise was to help reduce the risk of flooding which, during the winter and in times of heavy rainfall, causes flooding upstream of the culvert, putting cottages at Cut Pound and Tanhouse Lane at particular risk.

According to the residents’ association, over the past 10 years members have made their views on flood prevention clear and have been lobbying various authorities, including EHDC, the Environment Agency and Alton Town Council, over the ongoing maintenance of the River Wey, which runs directly underneath the town centre.

Supported by residents‚ the association considers the conduit which runs under the road between Cut Pound and the Community Centre to be a flood risk. This is due to the build-up of silt in the culvert which lifts the level of the river upstream.

Having finally managed to persuade the authorities that this build-up definitely blocks the river course and raises levels, long-standing association members John Batten and Charles Kaye have been working with EHDC on plans to clear the accumulated sludge and debris.

And this week their persistence finally paid off.

According to residents’ association chairman Louise Parker, there was a late hiccup when the association learned that the Environment Agency needed to give official clearance for the safe disposal of the sludge from the river, which analysis shown was contaminated.

As a result, residents’ association joined forces with EHDC to put pressure on the Environment Agency to agree to the relevant proposals so that a contract could be let to specialist contractors. And on Monday work finally began on the slow process of clearing the channel, with all concerned “crossing their fingers that there will be no last-minute complications and this work can be completed before the river levels rise again in the winter”, according to Mrs Parker.

This victory follows hot on the heels of another lengthy residents’ association campaign which has resulted in the fitting by EHDC of a new “trash screen” designed to prevent blockage of the culvert as the river emerges from beneath the community centre on the car park side. It replaced a crude screen which was difficult to keep clear of debris, causing the river to back up, endangering properties upstream.

Speaking on behalf of the residents, Mrs Parker said: “We are delighted that the constancy of John Batten and Charles Kaye in maintaining contact with EHDC and the Environment Agency has finally paid off, and we are confident that ongoing clearing of debris from the river will be made much easier thanks to this recent installation.”