QUESTIONS have been raised about when a permanent flood barrier will go ahead in Upton-upon-Severn.

Politicians want to know why clay from a new development at Upton Marina is being shipped to Worcester to build the city’s Hylton Road bund while permanent defences for the town appear to have been delayed.

However, the Environment Agency said it had never committed to starting the Upton scheme this year and, even though it has secured £3.6 million of national funding to protect Upton, construction is unlikely to begin until next year.

Upton was hit badly by flooding last year even though temporary barriers were put up.

Richard Burt, the Liberal Democrat parliamentary candidate for West Worcestershire, said he had written to the agency demanding that the bund along the Waterfront and New Street was built quickly.

He said: “I know that members of the New Street Flood Forum, the town council and others have worked incredibly hard with Environment Agency officials to develop the flood defence scheme. With the money secured, they fully expected that construction of the New Street bund would start in conjunction with the marina development this summer, and that work on the riverside defences would commence soon afterwards.”

Although there is sufficient clay for both schemes, he said: “There is considerable frustration that clay from the Upton Marina is sailing up the river Severn to Worcester, but is not being used to build the town’s own defences next door.”

He said his concerns were shared by the town council’s chairman Tim Perry.

However, an EA spokeswoman said: “Flood defences take time to plan and build.

“We have just secured the funding to take this project forward, and we are now working on a project appraisal report to ensure that the scheme meets government rules on spending public money.

“We still have a lot of work to do on the appraisal and detailed design work before we can confirm the scheme will definitely happen.”

About 14,000 tons of clay are expected to be sent from Upton to Worcester on barges, which will be used to raise the riverside along Hylton Road.

The EA has said using the clay is one way they can keep costs for the Worcester scheme down.