A FREEDOM of Information (FoI) request has revealed the Environment Agency (EA) has withdrawn maintenance funds from West Somerset rivers just weeks before a Government flood funding settlement is due.

The agency’s river maintenance has traditionally protected homes, farmland, and main roads across West Somerset.

Its own records released under the Environmental Information Regulations show routine maintenance on the River Avill, the River Aller, Horner Water, and the Washford River has been run down over the past several years.

On most of the rivers, the last routine weed control was carried out in 2022.

Spending on the Washford River has fallen by about 90 per cent since 2016.

Earlier this year, the agency wrote to residents to consult on its intention to stop work on the Washford River, the Traphole Stream, and other West Somerset watercourses, citing a lack of funding.

The cuts fall on rivers which the agency itself flags as a flood risk.

The Washford River from Roadwater to Watchet is a designated flood warning area, covering homes on Mill Street and Market Street, in Watchet, and Abbey Road, in Washford.

Horner Water, the Aller, and the Washford each sits within the agency’s West Somerset Streams flood alert area.

The EA does not hold a legal duty to maintain main rivers, it acts under permissive powers, which means that when it withdraws, responsibility passes by law to individual landowners who are expected to clear and maintain miles of main river themselves.

The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) is due to publish its flood funding allocation on July 15.

But, ahead of the announcement a local campaign is urging West Somerset residents to sign an open letter demanding the settlement should restore funding to local rivers.

Watchet town councillors have been leading a campaign against the cuts, the consequences of which are feared to reach beyond immediate residents.

Flooding regularly affects both the A39 and the A396, with previous incidents seeing drain covers in Minehead blown off by the volume of water, while in addition to Watchet the villages of Carhampton, Dunster, and Withycombe regularly flood.

The Government last month announced £50 million for Somerset after storms and record rainfall earlier this year caused massive flooding.

Exmoor farmer and Conservative political campaigner James Wright said: "My Freedom of Information reveals that funding has already effectively been pulled, putting homes and businesses at risk.

“On July 15 the Government sets its flood budget.

“Before they do, I want every household in West Somerset to put their name to one simple demand: ‘Fund our rivers’.

“When these rivers silt up, the water floods the A39 and shuts the road we all rely on.

“Pennies are saved and then £50 million has to be found after the flood.

“Prevention is cheaper than rescue.

“Sign the letter and let them know by July 15 what we need in West Somerset to protect our homes and businesses.”

The open letter can be signed through Mr Wright’s website.