A MEETING will be held to better inform residents of Porthmadog of the risk of flooding following concerns from community leaders.

Natural Resources Wales (NRW) are holding a drop-in session in the town after the area saw a dramatic increase in water levels at the Glaslyn and The Cut leaving residents concerned for their homes.

Also hit by floods were businesses in Tremadog and Porthmadog Football Club was left under water on several occasions.

Cllr Jason Humphreys, who welcomes Porthmadog East on Gwynedd Council, has welcomed the drop-in session after a series of talks with NRW officers.

He said: “Firstly, I’d like to express my gratitude to all the NRW, council and staff from other agencies that have been busy reacting to a number of threats and incidents recently. Porthmadog saw a dramatic increase in levels for the Glaslyn and The Cut and people became worried.

“There was a problem with the first gate at the “Dora”. It has been completely removed and water controlled counter-weights have also been removed from the rest. Natural Resources are liaising with Balfour Beatty and Welsh Government engineers and investigating the issue.

“A manually operated turnpike is now opened and closed on the first gate whenever there is any threat of heavy rain. Similar provisions exist for the remaining gates should problems arise. There’s even a provision for a crane operated third set of gates to be put in place should problems arise with these secondary turnpikes.

“An investigation into the flood risks for Porthmadog has been conducted and a report by consultants CH2M HILL should be ready by February’s meeting.

“There were no flood warnings for Porthmadog itself, but the fact that the vast majority of us were unaffected in spite of record rainfall and high tides is no reason to be complacent.

“February’s meeting should give people the opportunity to understand the risks and what’s to be done about them, learn about contingency plans, ask any questions and see what part we can all play in the future.”

Cllr Richard Williams told his fellow members at a recent Porthmadog Town Council meeting that an urgent meeting needed to be held with NRW officers in regards to the gates at the Dora.

He said: “We need to make sure these gates are working properly, especially after the heavy rain we have been having.

“I want to have an urgent meeting with officers from NRW to discuss this as if they aren’t working properly then we are all done for in Porthmadog when heavy rain hits again.”