TWO walls in Pontypool and Blaenavon, which were damaged by the floods of early 2020, could be fixed by autumn.

A decision will be made on Thursday on whether to release £142,000 to repair the Brooke House river wall in Blaenavon and £185,000 to repair the river wall at Pontypool Museum. 

Following storms Ciara, Dennis and Jose in early 2020, the flows of water in the Afon Lloyd river “reached their highest ever recorded levels”.

A report on the proposal says: “These flows resulted in damage to stone filled metal basket walls in several areas along the length of the river.”

The repairs will be funded by the Welsh Government via a grant handed to Torfaen County Borough Council.

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A survey funded by the Welsh Government on flood damage in the area found that the two highest safety implications to the council was the five-metre-high wall supporting the Pontypool Museum car park, off Park Road, and the wall supporting Forgeside Road, opposite Brook House, Blaenavon.

The report says: “ Both of these structures had suffered wash out from the flow of water and were now a cause of safety risk to the public and highway users.”

In April 2020, funding was provided to assess what flood damage needs to be fixed and now funding to carry out the projects has been confirmed. 

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Due to the restricted space to repair the wall at Forgeside Road, the council report says that a temporary road closure will be required when the work takes place.

It is anticipated that both walls will be repaired at the same time. They will take 10 weeks to repair and should be finished in October.

A decision on the scheme and whether to award the job to the preferred contractor will be made on Thursday.