Worried Bottesford farmer loses £25k to flooding and fears there may be more to come

A farmer who has lost £25,000 due to his farmland flooding is worried about the future of the surrounding area.

Philip Marshall, of Holme Lane, Bottesford said his land had been damaged by flooding from Bottesford Beck and other neighbouring farms had experienced the same problem.

He said: "I noticed severe flooding last year.

"The Bottesford Beck is now three foot deep and almost 60 foot wide in some places.

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"In 1996, it used to be eight foot across and has started increasing rapidly since then.

"It is getting out of control, as some public footpaths have now been washed away and we have lost some of this year's crop."

Mr Marshall said the beck runs over three of his fields.

He said: "I panic as soon as it rains because the beck rapidly rises and normally floods about 90 acres of my land.

"We are only a small farm, so cannot afford to lose any crops. The neighbouring farm lost a crop of rye this year and we lost about 17 acres of barley due to flooding."

Mr Marshall said he believed the beck could cause a serious problem in the future and the biggest problems were caused by flash flooding.

He said: "I did offer to repair our stretch of the beck but the Environment Agency said I was not allowed to stir the sediment because this would pollute the water."

Other businesses in the area are also suffering from the expansion of the beck.

Holme Hall Golf Club has experienced flooding problems and bank erosion.

Jim Birkett, head greenkeeper at the club, said he intended to ask the Environment Agency for something to be done about the problem.

He said: "I have been here 33 years and only remember the Bottesford Beck being cleaned out and managed once.

"It is very slow moving and has been very high for far too long now.

"The water is being pushed to the banks and eroding the sides.

"The golf course cannot drain as it usually does, as there are a lot of weeds holding it up.

"When it floods, it can take holes out of play and is not good for the course.

"We are concerned about long term effects of erosion.

"The beck is just not flowing and we are dreading it raining now."

An Environment Agency spokesman said: "Although we do carry out maintenance work on Bottesford Beck to reduce the risk of flooding to nearby property, the flooding in this case does not extend to residential property.

"Therefore, we would not undertake work to resolve the land drainage issues as it is not considered a priority and the funding would not be available.

"In these circumstances, responsibility for river maintenance falls to the riparian owner (the person or people whose land is adjoining a watercourse).

"As a riparian owner, that person has the right to carry out maintenance work on the river to improve."