RESIDENTS have contacted their MP and local councillors amid fears that flooding is getting progressively worse in their town road.
Monmouth Leisure Centre was surrounded by water for more than two days in the latest flood and had to close, while householders at the end of Old Dixton Road were cut off by thigh-deep water and needed a trip in a fire service dinghy to reach town.
At least four cars stranded in the car park beside the driving test centre were also flooded, with backed up drains from the overflowing Wye among reasons blamed for the high water in the area.
The flood gate beside Monmouth Rowing Club again proved its worth in preventing major flooding on the other side of the dual carriageway, but residents say more needs to be done to prevent water rising along Old Dixton Road and around the leisure centre and school sports areas.
Police closed the road to traffic on Thursday and Friday, January 4 to 5, while the fire service and Natural Resources Wales staff pumped water away back into the Wye.
Esther Lacey, who has lived at the bottom of Old Dixton for some 30 years, had to wade through the water with son Liam to meet a courier to collect art materials for his Hereford College final year exhibition on the Thursday.
And she said: “It was up to the top of my wellington boots, and then next day we got a lift in a dinghy when it was thigh deep. But we had no choice, it’s really important for him.
“The gate works well and the dual carriageway is a massive wall preventing the river breaking through, but we seem to be getting worse flooding here because the drain system can’t seem to cope and perhaps the water table is rising.
“This wasn’t as bad as 2020, when the river was much higher and the water up to the top of my gate, but myself and the other residents would really like this to be looked at, because it’s definitely getting worse every time we have a flood.
“The fire service and NRW did a magnificent job pumping the water as fast as they could, and the pumps they were using seemed bigger than when we’ve flooded before.
“It would have been worse otherwise, but we get marooned every time there’s a bad flood. I have neighbours who are elderly and disabled who were stuck, which is a real concern for them.
“And most people need vehicles to get to work and the shops, etc, but you can’t drive through.
“There’s no way out apart from wading or a dinghy, or scrambling out the other way through the brambles alongside the dual carriageway, which might be OK for younger, fitter people, but is dangerous.
“The water was across the school field and it surrounds us like an island. Something needs to be done and we’ve asked for it to be looked at.”
Esther said the residents at the end of the road banded together during the latest flood to email local councillors and Monmouth MP David Davies, who attended the scene to see the situation for himself.
The leisure centre have also reached out to residents, saying they may be able to open gates in future to provide a better escape route.
Meanwhile, Monmouth Rowing Club on the riverside was again flooded, with club members spending Sunday morning in a major clean-up onsite and also helping out at the historic Dixton Church.