Somerset village hit by devastating flood pledges action after turning into lake

A village’s parish council has vowed to work with authorities responsible for water after it was hit by dramatic floods over the weekend.

Batheaston found itself next to a lake after Storm Bert saw the Avon flood Bathampton Meadows and the village car park. Avon Fire and Rescue Service had to rescue five people and two dogs trapped inside the Bathampton Mill pub on Monday (November 25) and — although on the other side of the village — Batheaston Church School was forced to close for the day after sewage spilled onto the playground.

The rainfall had caused a storm overflow to spill into the brook by the school and debris left by the flood cut off all routes for children to get to the school. The flood did not get inside the school building and it reopened on Tuesday.

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Dramatic photos taken with a drone by Leigh Lewis on Tuesday show the dramatic extent of the flooding of the Avon at the village near Bath. One van can be seen partially submerged in the car park and the footpath across Bathampton meadows disappears into the water. The oxbow lake has vanished under the flood and can only be seen by the distinctive shape of treetops poking above the water.

Peter Lewis, a councillor on Batheaston Parish Council and the lead for its nature and environment working group, said: “We share the concern of our community about the recent flooding that has disrupted both Batheaston Church School and the wider village. Whilst drainage and sewer infrastructure are the responsibility of other authorities, we’re keen to work with and support the village and wider community in helping to address the broader environmental factors.

“At our next meeting, we will review how we can complement the work of the Environment Agency, B&NES Council and Wessex Water to further support the local community, in anticipation that such incidents may become more frequent in the future.”

Wessex Water said that because rainwater had inundated the sewer network, sewage could have backed up inside homes or even the school if the storm overflow had not discharged into the brook. A spokesperson added: “Drainage systems carrying floodwater are often interconnected so we work closely with councils, who are responsible for highway drains, and others to help resolve the distressing flooding issues we’ve seen in Bath and elsewhere during the recent storms.

“The extreme weather resulted in our licensed storm overflow operating as designed, discharging mostly rainwater when sewers became overwhelmed. We’re spending £3 million every month on schemes to reduce how often this happens and plan to invest significantly more from 2025, if approved by Ofwat.”

The school’s headteacher Sally Jeffries said yesterday: “In the past we have suffered minor flooding issues, although this has not been a problem for quite some time. However, this is the second time this year that we have encountered flooding problems within the playground — the first not as serious as this weekend’s.

“Therefore we are speaking to a flooding expert with a view to implementing measures to prevent problems in the future. We will also be speaking to the council about their responsibility for the drain issues.”