LYDBROOK residents are just now returning to their homes and businesses, a year after catastrophic and unprecedented floods inundated their properties in June of last year.

The flood in Upper Lydbrook saw a 'lake' develop, running from the bottom of Church Road, past the Jovial Collers pub and ending at the rise in the road beside the road to Lydbrook School, with floodwaters five feet deep outside Lydbrook Garage.

But now a new plan has emerged, where the district council is seeking over a million pounds from central government to build a new system of culverts under the village to take potential flash flooding away from the residential area and send it down to join the Wye at Lower Lydbrook.

As news of the idea was released, some residents raised doubts over the necessity for such a massive undertaking - since the village already has an extensive network of storm water culverts. These were highlighted in a series of dramatic photographs printed in the Review in December of last year that were taken by mining engineer Paul Morgan, then of Lydbrook and now living in Coleford.

The photographs, from around 1970, show workmen clearing silt and stones that had built up inside the culverts over the years. Mr Rogers told us that tracks had to be laid into the culvert tunnels to take railway 'bogies' that were needed to clear the huge amounts of sediment that had built up.

A Lydbrook resident, who did not wish to be named, said: "It's a lot of money to spend when we already have a culvert system under the village. Those old photos show a workman demonstrating with a pick-handle how much material they took out.

"That clear-out was about 40 years ago now, so it's not really surprising they are blocking up when we get massive rains. If they got them cleared out again, we probably wouldn't need this new culvert."

But others have warned that recent years have seen a steady increase in 'phenomenal weather events' – especially deluges of rain - and that a new culvert system is an insurance policy against local residents and businesses suffering the chaos and rebuilding work that follows a big flood.

In a statement issued to the Review by Cllr Martin Quaile, cabinet member for the Environment at Forest of Dean District Council said: "It was a number of events that caused last year's flooding. High winds caused debris to block watercourses and the culvert was in poor condition which impeded flow.

"Proposals are currently being considered for work to be carried out in Lydbrook which should help alleviate flooding in the village. The work will be extremely costly and could cost up to £1 million but we will apply to central government for funding for this."

He added: "We are currently awaiting an options appraisal to identify the best value and most effective solution before we move forward."

•A conference of international climatologists was this week convened in Exeter to discuss the extraordinary weather that the UK has endured in recent years.