A PERMANENT flood defence scheme in Tenbury could now happen.

Residents and businesses in the town will be invited to attend a crucial public meeting next month at which a range of options will be considered.

The issue of whether the town should have permanent defences has been a cause of contention since major floods in 2007.

An assessment by engineers from the Environment Agency put a price tag of £5million on a scheme and judged that the benefits did not justify the cost.

The possibility for an alternative cheaper scheme was looked at but got nowhere.

Malvern Hills District Council was then involved in a project that helped some of the most vulnerable properties in the town take measures like putting flood barriers on doors and raising electrical plugs in ground floor rooms.

A network of local volunteers has been created ready to move hundreds of sandbags in the event of a serious threat of flooding. Earlier this year troops were briefly in the town to help with preparations.

The idea of a permanent flood defence has been revived after West Worcestershire MP Harriett Baldwin, whose constituency includes Tenbury, said she would help to see if funding could be provided.

Mrs Baldwin has called on Tenbury residents to speak up on the need for permanent flood defences.

The MP has urged local homeowners and businesses to express their views on the need for a permanent solution to alleviate flooding in Tenbury.

She made the call after arranging a meeting with the town’s mayor Mark Willis and the Environment Agency to discuss the issue.

Mrs Baldwin believes that there may be an option for some defence works that could be presented to the Environment Agency and Central Government for support.

But any scheme is likely to be controversial and could face opposition.

Councillor Mark Willis, mayor of Tenbury, has made it clear before he took up the office that he is sceptical and would not be happy with a ‘bog standard’ scheme.

Speaking last year, when he was deputy mayor and chair of the town’s CEST (Community Emergency Support Team, he said that steps can be taken to limit flooding damage but a defence scheme is off the agenda.

He has expressed his fears that this would involve encircling the town with a permanent high wall.

Coun Willis believes that this would not be acceptable to many people and he thinks that dredging the River Teme and providing a water storage area upstream is not practicable.

Councillor George Price, who stood down as mayor of Tenbury in May, believes that the town had a lucky escape not to be hit by the flooding that struck parts of the country earlier this year.

But he also has reservations about a permanent defence scheme to protect the town despite its vulnerability. He also said that many people would find a wall unacceptable and that it is important not to solve the problem in one place only to transfer it somewhere else.

The public meeting will be on Thursday October 9 with the venue and time to be confirmed.