A WEST Somerset community devastated by last November's floods has been warned there is no Government funding available to stop it happening again.

Villagers and businesses in Williton whose homes and properties were hit when the Monksilver Stream topped its banks at its highest recorded level were told it was down to them to find the money for any major mitigation scheme.

A public meeting last Thursday, called by Williton Parish Council in the wake of the damage caused to around 24 properties, heard a catalogue of concerns from some of the people who fell victim to the torrent of water that gushed through the village.

Issues raised ranged from flood warnings being received anything from half an hour to several hours after the water had torn through properties, to the lack of maintenance that led to blocked watercourses.

The impact of new housing developments was also a concern.

Detailed plans for an upstream attenuation scheme to keep the water out of the village were drawn up more than a decade ago following similar floods in 2000.

But John Rowlands from the Environment Agency, which carried out the work, said the estimated cost at the time was £2 million.

And he said the scheme had not scored sufficiently high on the balance between the cost and the number of properties it would protect to attract Government funding.

Mr Rowlands said he was willing to look again at the scheme but issued a stark warning: "There is no money," he said.

"There is a huge overburden on funding and the areas that will have the biggest score are those with the largest number of properties.

"I absolutely agree that something needs to be done but we have a lack of funding."

But he said the Government had given the Environment Agency a "steer".

"They want you as a community to play a part.

"The funding needs to be found elsewhere and we are looking towards you."

Mr Rowlands said the ultimate responsibility for the maintenance of rivers and watercourses lay with the owners of adjoining land.

The Environment Agency could step in to carry out work deemed to be needed due to flood risk, but future maintenance would be the responsibility of the landowner.

Mr Rowlands said the Environment Agency's only duty was to provide flood warnings and until legislation gave it other powers, it could only seek to influence issues such as development and planning consent.

On major schemes to alleviate future flooding, Mr Rowlands said he was constrained by Treasury rules.

"If you want something to happen we will push on your behalf, but the money is not coming to us because of Government cuts.

"We are here to help but we are limited in what we can do. You have to help yourselves."

Mr Rowlands said he hoped the last three months, when many parts of the country had suffered severe flooding, had been a wake-up call to the Government.

The main cause of last November's floods had been the sheer volume of rainfall, which Mr Rowlands said was unprecedented.

"We had the wettest summer on record and the ground is saturated.

"It is sodden everywhere. When the rain can't soak into the ground it will run off.

"The only way to stop it is to stop it coming into the village - that is the best solution that will provide the best protection, but it is the most expensive."

Robert Street resident Ian Aldridge, whose home was one of several damaged by flood water, said a plan to protect Williton from flooding needed to be undertaken at national level.

"Unless there is money available, all you (the authorities) are saying is 'Get used to it'.

"As residents alone, we can only flounder around as we try to deal with the problem."

Mr Aldridge said he could help himself by hiring a JCB digger and digging out part of the road that increased the risk of flooding to his and 14 neighbouring properties.

"But I wouldn't do that because nobody would be able to get into the doctors' surgery and I wouldn't do it because it would be selfish and self-centred.

"But we do look to our elected representatives at all levels for some management.

"Your political masters seem to have washed their hands of it and it is a dereliction of their democratic duty."

Mr Aldridge said he would be happy to pay increased taxes to help resolve the issue.

"It is a national problem and it should be dealt with by nationally funded schemes."

Duncan Robson, whose High Street home was hit by the floods, said there was a need to look to the future and some flood defence scheme.

He questioned why planning gain money could not be secured from developments such as the proposed new supermarket in Williton and a third nuclear power station at Hinkley Point.

But West Somerset Council planning manager Andrew Goodchild said it was likely to be some years before any significant developments, such as the supermarket or large-scale housing, would come to fruition.

Mr Goodchild said smaller developments of between ten and 30 homes could not be expected to deliver a flood scheme on the scale needed.

And developers could also not be expected to contribute to historic problems.

"I appreciate this is a bitter pill to swallow but developers are not the answer to these funding problems," he said.

Parish council chairman Cllr Robert McDonald, who opened the meeting by describing the mental and physical trauma suffered by flood victims, told villagers all was not lost.

He said the council would collate the concerns raised by people and seek clarification from the authorities represented at the meeting, which included the Wyndham Estate and Somerset County Council.

Drawing up a village emergency plan would also be looked at, while the existing parish plan - about to be updated - could also play a part.

"I don't believe all is lost," said Cllr McDonald. "Yes we have problems and yes it looks as though we are going to have to do things ourselves.

"We need to seriously look at where we can get funding from and whether we can get together as a community."