Flooding row spurs council talks after village pub’s reopening is delayed

Twm Owen, Local Democracy Reporter 

Talks to resolve a “long-standing” issue causing flooding in a village which also postponed the reopening of its pub are to take place.

The Little Jockey pub, in Little Mill, was due to reopen on December 1 after being closed for more than a year but its new landlords were forced to push the opening date back by flooding caused by heavy rainfall during Storm Claudia in November that also affected some homes.

The pub’s opening night celebration was eventually able to go ahead on Saturday, December 6.

Councillor Tony Kear, whose Usk and Llanbadoc ward includes Little Mill, said at Monmouthshire County Council’s December meeting a brook and culvert at Ty-Draw Lane and blocked drains appeared to have contributed to the flooding.

He said the village, on the main road from Usk to Pontypool, had suffered flooding due to the same problems 12 months ago and asked what measures the council will take to “proactively clear and alleviate these hot spots”.

However the council’s cabinet member for climate change, including highways, Cllr Catrin Maby said she understood the culvert is through private land though acknowledged due to amount of rain it was unlikely to have coped with the quantity of water.

The Labour councillor said: “We have a growing list of hot spots we will be checking and clearing when we get storm warnings.”

But she also said while drains or culverts can be cleared before a storm they can be blocked with debris in a matter of hours and before a storm has passed.

The cabinet member also said the council needed to press on owners of private watercourses they have a responsibility to keep them clear so they do not impact people downstream.

Conservative Cllr Kear said there have been what he called “local disputes” about land ownership but also said some of the flooding was related to water running off the highway and asked if Cllr Maby would meet with him, Cllr Meirion Howells who also represents the ward and Llanbadoc Community Council to “to resolve the long-standing issue”, which she agreed to do.