Midgham community's new flood defence measures

Heather Hutchins, aged 45, of Brimpton Road, situated near the Kennet and Avon Canal, lost everything after flood waters and rising sewage swept through her home and hundreds of others in 2007.
Following that the home was burgled, after she and her family were suddenly forced to leave their home:
“Once you are flooded, you have to get out as soon as possible, owing to sewage water in the house,” said Mrs Hutchins.
“There was not much left upstairs, we put things in the middle of the room, but the burglars took the backs off the wardrobes and stole a few watches,” she added.
Mrs Hutchins and her family, including two sons, aged 18 and 20, and her neighbours in six houses on the road, are now benefiting from £30,000 new flood defence measures, which West Berkshire Council put the finishing touches to this week.
Funded by a grant from Defra (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs), awarded to the council by the Environment Agency, the measures include flood resistant doors, removable barriers for doors, and airbricks and non-return valves on domestic and foul drains.
Mrs Hutchins said she was confident the non return valves would prevent flood water and sewage flooding her downstairs shower – a ground floor essential, as she is disabled.
The non-return valves have also been installed on cess pit tanks, to prevent sewage flooding into the house.
The front and back door can now be sealed with gates, which slide down in front of the doors, using a winding mechanism: “It doesn’t stop us getting in and out,” said Mrs Hutchins.
As a Midgham parish councillor, together with a fellow parish councillor, Mrs Hutchins also regularly checks water levels in a ditch outside the front of the properties and arranges for the ditch to be drained.
The flooding has sent the insurance premiums of properties along the road rocketing, but Mrs Hutchins hoped a certificate proving the flood defence work had been completed would help the neighbours - two of whom are also disabled – shop around for lower premiums:
“We can’t get insurance until we are five years clear. If it floods, we have to pay the first £3,500,” said Mrs Hutchins.
Despite these problems, she said she had not considered moving: “We are like a small community, we have all lived here many years,” she said.
Meanwhile in Newbury, the EA has confirmed construction work is set to start on Newbury’s £1.54m flood alleviation scheme on Wednesday, after around six months delay, while design wrinkles were ironed out.