ENGINEERS will start planning Romsey’s flood defences in April – six years earlier than had been scheduled.

Wednesday’s budget sent cash flowing into the Environment Agency (EA) budget allowing them to bring forward projects in Hampshire.

These include investigating ways to prevent a repeat of the devastating floods that hit Romsey in February 2014 – leaving homes and businesses under water.

The news has been welcomed by Romsey’s MP Caroline Nokes who has been battling to get more cash to bolster the town’s flood defences.

Ms Nokes said: “This is a massive relief for all those affected in Romsey last year. I have been pushing ministers for a long time to recognise the urgency her eand I am delighted this funding has been brought forward.”

Wesley Jones, of the Environment Agency’s flooding and coastal risk management team, said that there were two projects for Romsey and one is led by the EA which is focussed on managing flooding in the town.

This might include making the “catflap” – an improvised barrier built from sandbags and scaffold poles on the River Test at Greatbridge in February last year by the military personnel and the EA – a permanent structure which can be closed when the town is at risk of flooding.

The catflap was used to slow the flow of water and push it out onto the floodplain north of Romsey.

Mr Jones said that the second project will concentrate on problems with surface water and its management and will be run by Hampshire County Council.

Much clearing of blocked ditches and streams has already been done following last year’s floods and recently work has been carried out to improve the flow of the Borne Stream at King’s Somborne another area badly hit by the flooding.

Romsey and Test Valley borough councillor Ian Richards, who was town mayor when the flooding hit, said: “This is good news for Romsey and I await the implementation of any measures that are planned. I think the catflap would be a good thing because it worked and prevented more serious flooding in February last year.”

The Greatbridge area was worst affected and almost cut off from the rest of the town when the main Romsey to Stockbridge road was closed for several weeks because it was submerged in more than two feet of water after the Businesses on the Budds Lane Trading Estate lost hundreds of thousands of pounds.

Braishfield Garage was one business badly hit and the owner Rob Eldridge is looking forward to further work being done to reduce the risk of further flooding.

“Quite a bit of work has already been done. If the Environment Agency does get the money it has been promised, I hope the catflap is put in because they will be able to control the flow of water better,” said Mr Eldridge, who estimates that he lost around £50 to £60,000 in trade during the flooding when his premises were swamped with water and he was forced to find temporary premises for months afterwards.