THE construction of a £1.3million flood defence scheme for Pickering has been called off at the last minute because it cannot be built within budget.

The Environment Agency was due to start work this summer on its Slowing the Flow project, a number of natural flood barriers and storage reservoirs upstream of the town, to alleviate flooding.

The agency announced the cancellation of the project after revealing that construction costs had spiralled to £3.2m because of additional safety measures needed to reduce any risk to the public should the reservoirs fail.

Pickering has suffered serious flooding four times in the last ten years, with the repair bill for flood damage in 2007 estimated at £7m.

The announcement was met with anger by the town’s Conservative MP, Anne McIntosh, who said she could "not express strongly enough" her disappointment. She said she would seek urgent talks with the Environment Agency and the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.

Linda Cowling, who represents Pickering West on Ryedale District Council, said she was horrified at the news.

"It’s despicable to drop Pickering in it like this," she said.

"They must have spent thousands in man hours on this scheme and now they have pulled out of it at the last minute."

The project was due to be funded by Ryedale District Council, which had already agreed to contribute £950,000 towards the scheme.

An additional £100,000 was secured from the Yorkshire Regional Flood Defence Committee and £50,000 from the Environment Agency.

The Slowing the Flow project was meant to take a new approach to flood management and included plans to plant more trees, create new flood plains and bring streams back to a more natural state, to slow the flow of water.

The agency’s area manager Craig McGarvey said he realised the decision would be "incredibly disappointing".

He added: "We have sought advice from a range of experts, discussed the issue with the independent reservoir engineers for nearly a year and used the latest in modelling technology to develop a design that complies with the legislation and could be built within the current budget.

"Unfortunately, it has become clear that this is not possible."