§ 49. Mr. KeyTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement about the flooding of land above and below the village of Tilshead in Wiltshire following the construction by the Army of causeways for military vehicles.
§ Mr. Archie HamiltonDuring the recent exceptional rainfall, a large quantity of water accumulated behind a causeway which crosses a valley north-east of Tilshead village. The defence land agent Durrington took immediate steps first to prevent and then to control the overflow of water down the valley by inserting culverts in the causeway. Subsequently the defence land agent and Army engineers took the precautionary step of strengthening the causeway in a complex overnight operation involving many individuals and organisations. Water has not been known to accumulate behind the causeway in the past and on this occasion its existence may well have prevented even worse flooding in Tilshead village.