POWICK residents have renewed their calls for a nearby main road to remain open after repeated flooding.

Members of the Powick Flood Forum are calling for the A449 to remain open following Februray 2020's floods, which saw dozens of families forced out of their home.

In a publication, they call for both the raising and keeping open of the road, saying: "The flooding of 25 homes in the old village is of course important, as it caused an estimated £3.75 million of damage to homes (25 x £150,000), but the value of keeping the A449 open has a far greater value to a huge number of people

"24,000 cars a day on average use the A449 for commuting, leisure travel etc as it is the most direct link between Malvern Hills area and Worcester.

"If this road is closed due to flooding, the Bransford bridge and Upton roads are almost certainly already closed and the next open link will be the M50, a 40 mile detour.

"Over 100,000 people live in the Malvern Hills area and the emergency services rely on the A449, as it is the main link between Worcester and Malvern and all three services have backed any plans to keep the road open at all times."

We reported last year how Worcestershire County Council was looking into raising the road.

This came after calls from councillors, as well as West Worcestershire MP Harriett Baldwin, for a better flood defence scheme for the village.

Earlier this year, the council was made aware of a government fund to help “level up” flood defences.

Worcestershire County Council had the option to bid for £4.8 million to help raise roads near Powick.

At the time, the council confirmed it is working with the Environment Agency to develop a plan while the formal report on last year’s flooding is being formalised.

A Worcestershire County Council spokesman said: "We are working with the Environment Agency to investigate the feasibility of an integrated scheme for Powick to improve flood resilience for properties and the A449 south.

"Any scheme would need to be fully modelled, surveyed, designed, funded, have planning approval and a strong business case."