Water company set to dig ditch at Barton Common to stop pumping station flooding

A WATER company is set to be allowed to dig up a small area of a Barton beauty spot to prevent flooding to a nearby waste water pumping station.

New Milton Town Council had agreed a compromise with Southern Water Services, which initially wanted to excavate a ditch to carry water 35 metres along Barton Common.

It had sought to undertake the work on the town council-owned site, off Becton Lane, to solve problems affecting its pumping station on the southern edge.

Ground water run-off from a water course on the common was believed to be causing the system and works compound to flood.

SWS said the situation was now so bad it had become a health-and-safety issue.

Town council estates and facilities manager Mark Jeffries and volunteer ranger Bob Lord proposed a much shorter route of 10 metres, and SWS accepted.

Members at a recent amenities committee meeting agreed the work should be allowed to go ahead at SWS’s expense and subject to town council approval.