BOSSES at Sovereign Housing Association have vowed to get families back into their flood-hit Basingstoke homes before Christmas.

As previously reported by The Gazette, a total of 87 homes were evacuated in Grampian Way, Exmoor Close, Bodmin Close, Antrim Close, Prescelley Close, Quantock Close, Sperrin Close and Holyrood Court, in the Buckskin area, after February 8 when the properties were hit by groundwater flooding.

An independent report published by Hampshire County Council in July revealed that a dormant spring, which became active, was part of the reason the area flooded, and experts concluded that surface water drainage needed to be reviewed to understand the underlying cause of the flooding.

However, the report also highlighted that flooding occurred following a wetter than average 2012 and 2013, and then when there was an exceptional amount of rainfall with no break between February 7 and March 6.

Eight months on from the devastating event, two families will return to their homes next week, with other families moving in during October and November.

However, not all residents will be returning to the area. Twenty six families have decided not to move back to Buckskin and have chosen to stay in the temporary accommodation provided by the housing association during the flooding, because the “community and accommodation fits them better”.

In all, 14 families have confirmed that they will return to their original properties.

Following the flooding, teams from Sovereign have been working to restore the properties to their original state which has included drying out and sanitising the properties and refitting kitchens that were destroyed by the contaminated water.

Luke Bingham, Sovereign’s regional director for Hampshire, told The Gazette that the housing association had spent around £2million on the properties, storage costs and removal costs for families moving back into their homes.

He said: “We are hoping to move people in the next week. We have done it in terms of priority of need, and somebody has to go first and somebody last.

“We hope to have all the other families in their homes before Christmas. We thought it would take 12 months, so effectively we have done it three months early. We are really pleased to get them in and support and help them.”

When asked what measures were in place to prevent further flooding, he added: “Because it is groundwater, it is very difficult to prevent but we are trying to put measures in place to mitigate the risk.

“We have put cameras in the drains and clearing out the drains with all the rubbish that got in there last year.”

Sovereign will be paying for removal costs and storage costs for people affected by the flooding and the whole project has cost them in the region of £2million.