A COUNTY councillor has called on Hampshire’s decision-making Cabinet to spend a £2million fund promised to a Basingstoke suburb as soon as possible.

A total of 87 homes were evacuated in Grampian Way, Exmoor Close, Bodmin Close, Antrim Close, Prescelly Close, Quantock Close, Sperrin Close and Holyrood Court, in the Buckskin area, after February 8 when the properties were hit by groundwater flooding which was contaminated with raw sewage.

As previously reported by The Gazette, the Government announced that the area would be awarded £2m for a scheme to prevent the devastating flooding incident happening again.

However, at the moment, the money will not be available until 2018, and the county council will have to meet a range of requirements to release the cash injection, including carrying out initial feasibility work to assess and refine options for reducing flood risk, and ensuring a preferred option, which is developed, is technically feasible.

Basingstoke North West county councillor Stephen Reid addressed members of the county council’s Cabinet last week and called on them to spend the £2m promised to Buckskin for a project to alleviate flooding in the area, before getting a refund from the Government when the funding is due to be released.

He said: “The priority now is to try to find an engineering solution that will produce a real benefit for Buckskin, and that won't be easy.

“The problem last winter was caused by a dormant spring reactivating because of a high water table, but some homes were flooded by the groundwater that then flowed through the estate.

“If we can't stop the water table rising, I would like the engineers to investigate whether a pumping solution might be able to divert some of the groundwater from running along the natural valley in which Buckskin was built back in the 1960s.”

Hampshire County Council leader Cllr Roy Perry said the local authority would proceed with the project before 2018 – but only if it could be sure the Government would refund any money that is spent.

A drop-in session was also held for the residents of the flood-hit area last Wednesday at The Ridgeway Centre, in Blackdown Close.

The session allowed the newly-formed Buckskin Flood Action Group to introduce themselves to residents and to explain what role it will play in the community.

In addition, representatives from emergency agencies, including the Environ-ment Agency and Thames Water, up-dated residents on the work they have been carrying out to prevent the area being flooded again.

Cllr Reid said: “I am very grateful to the volunteers in the Flood Action Group for coming together to help everyone in the flood-affected area of Buckskin.

“They will play a key role in ensuring that residents are kept informed of the current situation and what to do in the event that we experience exceptional rainfall again. I was also delighted that many members of the public put their names down to be volunteer flood wardens.”