Screen at Kenilworth's ford to be monitored daily

The screen is set to be monitored by a team from Warwick District Council, who will clear it when necessary instead of being cleared once a month by contractors.

According to Cllr Shilton (Con, Park Hill), the new routine is set to start as soon as safety audits are completed, which is due to be very soon. He had previously confirmed at a public meeting in February that the routine was set to change, but nothing had been put in place until now.

He said: “I wasn’t satisfied with the action being taken. Warwick District Council will now monitor the screen on a daily basis and actually remove debris from the screen itself when needed.

“They’ll also remove debris from the many other screens in the district, but right now their priority is Kenilworth’s ford.

“The main issue to me is where the banks have been removed either side of the ford allowing the water to come round the side of the screen and onto the road.”

Cllr Shilton also voiced agreement with a reader’s letter which suggested some of the pipes at the Tiltyard, the embankment which forms the visitors entrance to Kenilworth Castle, should be blocked to reform the Castle Mere. He added: “It would control the level of the water downstream.”

The pipes under the ford in Castle Road are also scheduled to be jet-washed on a regular basis by Warwickshire County Council, as it deals with anything to do with the road itself.

If the district council report any problems with the pipes as part of their duties, they will report back to the county council who will then jet-wash the pipes.

Concerns had been raised about the number of times the screen at the ford became blocked after a period of heavy rain, and after the last floods a build-up of silt had formed, blocking two of the pipes which channelled water under Castle Road.