A £4 MILLION defence scheme to protect floodprone Upton-upon-Severn is set to be completed within a month.

A glass-topped flood wall along the waterfront is taking shape and will be ready on schedule by the first Bank Holiday weekend in May, an Environment Agency spokesman told your Malvern Gazette.

Local MP Harriett Baldwin was asked to close a new flood gate in New Street in November, marking the official completion of the first phase the Environment Agency flood defence project.

Together with the new floodbund, it is hoped the scheme will protect residents and businesses who have had to put up with more than 70 flood events in the last 40 years.

Grahame Bunn, landlord of the Kings Head, which was one of the businesses devastated by the summer floods in 2007, said completion would be fantastic news for all the businesses and residents who have suffered from flooding.

“It has been a long haul but I think completion will be a real landmark.

“I believe these defences are something that will hugely benefit the whole town,” he said.

The wall proved contentious as it went through the planning process; while some argued that it was vital for Upton’s survival, others feared a wall would harm the character of the waterfront and that other options should have been pursued.

However Mr Bunn believes opinion is warming as the work near completion.

“The general feeling I am getting from people is that it is much better than those who did have concerns had perhaps thought,”

he said.

“I honestly think that in a year’s time it will just be accepted as part of the town and people will wonder what all the fuss was about.”

Simon Speers, chairman of the Upton Flood Forum, which campaigned for the defences to be built, said things were looking good.

He said: “They have made huge progress in the last few weeks and it is really starting to look like part of the riverfront rather than a building site.

“The feedback I’ve heard towards it has been largely very positive.

“I think it looks really rather smart and having this protection can only be a good thing for the town.”