M4 overpass blamed as flooding ruins Dauntsey homes

The Green in Dauntsey was hit by floodwater which broke the banks of the Dauntsey Brook on Friday, October 20, when heavy rainfall from Storm Babet hit Wiltshire.

Around 30 houses suffered damage as up to “a foot of water” entered some properties, while pictures have shown the entirety of the road was submerged.

Jacque Bailey, who has lived in the village for 33 years, had never seen such serious flooding at The Green.

The 70-year-old said: “This is unprecedented, the impact has been enormous and there are an awful lot of very angry people.

Flood damage to Jacques Bailey's home (Image: Jacques Bailey)

“I had at least a foot of water come through my house, it’s ruined people’s homes and the major damage to my house could take over a year to repair.”

Water levels returned to normal within 48 hours but Storm Ciaran has since threatened further issues.

Wiltshire Councillor Nic Puntis, who lived in Dauntsey for six years and is the cabinet member for flooding, explained the problems are made worse by the M4 overpass leading to Dauntsey, which acts as a “dam” during heavy rainfall.

He said: “There is a significant problem with the size of the overpass culverts because they aren’t large enough to allow water through them during extreme weather conditions.

Flooding on the M4 overpass (Image: Nic Puntis)

“That was highlighted by the huge amount of rainfall we had, the M4 was flooded and both sides of Dauntsey had massive floods due to the overpass.

“But the Paddy Field to the west of the overpass, which is a flood plain, had no water in it because the overpass is basically a dam and that’s the problem.”

Cllr Puntis believes this is evidence the size of the culvert needs to be increased to avoid flooding.

He told this paper millions had already been spent on designs to mitigate the issue and these plans are now awaiting implementation from the Department for Transport.

“We know what causes the problem, we know how to solve the problem, but it hasn’t been implemented”, he added.

Flooding at The Green, Dauntsey (Image: Jacques Bailey)

“I’m meeting with the Secretary of State for Transport to try and persuade him because we need this dealt with.”

While the village has not experienced similar flooding from Storm Ciaran at the time of writing, water levels at Dauntsey Brook were described as high and rising on Wednesday, November 2.

A parish council meeting has been arranged for 6pm on Monday, November 6, to discuss flooding.