HEAVY rainfall has been affecting roads across the county this week and crews have been working tirelessly to combat the outbreak of adverse weather.

Areas in the county have faced full rivers, flooded fields and road closures caused by the rain.

Yesterday (5th January) the A466 Redbrook Road was the victim of flooding. A call was subsequently made by Monmouthshire County Council (MCC) to escalate the work to clear the road. The road was then closed at Wyesham after flooding at the bottom of Wyesham Avenue.

The B4293 at Llangwm, saw four inches of water covering the adjacent fields. Although the road was left open, drivers were advised to pass with great care.

The River Monnow near Osbaston School peaked on Sunday (3rd January) and MCC’s highways department closed the road. The highways department swept and cleaned the area after the water dropped and the road was re-opened the following day.

Several streams also topped in the area, including a stream on the A465 from Monmouth to Hereford near Buckolt, a stream south of Mitchel Troy and another on the B4237 from Hendre to Onen.

The old road to Abergavenny was flooded and closed but is now re-open after a cleaning operation was carried out.

Temporary traffic lights were also put in place through Trellech on Monday (4th January) while MCC cleared mud from the road.

Wonastow Road was also flooded and residents took to social media to post pictures of affected areas.

MCC distributed more than 1,000 sandbags but the authority was not aware of any flooded properties at the time the Beacon went to press.

Cllr Bryan Jones, cabinet member responsible for the county’s highways said: “Exceptional rainfall and high winds have caused considerable flooding hazards.

“Our highways, grounds and waste staff have risen to the challenge magnificently over Christmas and the New Year to ensure that any problems have been kept to a minimum.

Natural Resources Wales issued a flood alert yesterday for the River Wye and Monnow but advised that the levels for Monmouth was falling.

The Met Office has predicted Monmouthshire will be mostly dry, bright and less windy Wednesday to Friday. This respite will potentially lead to water levels receding.

Monmouthshire County Council’s draft Flood Risk Management Plan identifying flood risks for surface water to residents is available for public consultation until Monday 1st February 2016.

The plan includes flood risk zones for all 33 town and community council areas in the county and these can be examined in detail by zooming in the online maps.

The Flood Risk Regulations 2009 require Monmouthshire County Council as the Lead Local Flood Authority (LLFA) to produce the Flood Risk Management Plan.  The plan deals with the risks of flooding from surface water run-off, rivers, brooks and streams.

The council will take account of responses received from the community as far as possible and will also seek to respond to all points raised. The final document will be considered for approval by the council’s cabinet member with responsibility for flood risk, before being submitted formally to the Welsh Government. The council will then publish the document on its website with any required amendments.

The draft plan can be accessed at: www.monmouthshire.gov.uk/flooding and comments can be emailed to the council on: [email protected]