HUNDREDS of people arrived to attend a public meeting with representatives of Natural Resources Wales (NRW) on Tuesday to voice their concerns about the construction of a dam on woodland near the village.

The event, which was organised by the campaign group Save Dinas Powys Woods and Protect Homes From Flooding, took place at Dinas Powys Parish Hall after NRW initiated a public consultation on options to defend 197 homes from flooding.

The meeting was chaired by Dr Peter Smith, chairman of the campaign group.

Dr Smith said: “The number of people attending shows how committed local people are to protecting our natural environment.

“We were really impressed by the informed and helpful points raised, which have reinforced our belief that – while people understandably want to see their homes protected from flooding – there is a powerful consensus in favour of a natural approach, rather than for a dam.”

On a notice board constructed last March, NRW notified the public that the construction of a flood storage area on the Cadoxton River was the ‘best option’ to reduce the risk of flooding in Dinas Powys.

Following local opposition to the dam, however, NRW withdrew the sign and said they would no longer state a preferred option in their outline business case, published earlier this month.

The outline business case presented five shortlisted options, including a dam, for public consideration.

Also in attendance on Tuesday were Jane Hutt, Assembly Member for the Vale of Glamorgan; Gavin Jones, project manager of the Dinas Powys Flood Risk Management Scheme at Natural Resources Wales, and Chris Matts, area manager for Woodland Trust Wales, which owns the site of the proposed dam.

Gavin Jones reiterated that there was currently no viable “community-wide solution” for flood defence, but assured the audience that NRW “are not just going to walk away and abandon Dinas Powys”.

Jane Hutt spoke in support of natural solutions to the flood risk.

“It was remarkable to see so many people, including our local Assembly Member Jane Hutt, calling upon NRW to prioritise three things – improving monitoring of the Cadoxton river to build evidence of actual flood risk; slowing the flow upstream with natural flood management activities like tree planting, leaky dams, and improving the layout of land to retain more water; and getting water swiftly out of Dinas Powys and onto the Sully Moors by improving the maintenance of the river channel,” said Peter Smith.

Some 170 people completed a survey at the event which asked for their views. When asked if they supported the construction of a dam, 97 per cent said they did not.

The same number advocated for “nature friendly solutions” to flood management.

Local engineer David Bacon proposed pumping water from the lower end of the Cadoxton, where the flood risk is highest, onto the Sully Moors.

Andrew Peterken, a Dinas Powys resident whose property is at risk of flooding, argued that natural flood management solutions should be trialled and the situation reviewed at a later date.

The public have been invited by Natural Resources Wales to offer their feedback on the Outline Business Case until Friday, March 27.

For more information, visit: naturalresources.wales/about-us/our-projects/flood-scheme-projects/dinas-powys-flood-scheme/appraisal-of-dinas-powys-flood-scheme-options/?lang=en.