A £195,000 scheme to reduce flooding in Ottery has been announced.
The waterway in Furzebrook has been earmarked as one of four projects in Devon to benefit from the natural flood management scheme.
The improvements will reduce flood risk to more than 60 properties in the town by slowing water flow in the upper reaches of the brook before it reaches the River Otter.
The scheme is one of 58 across England which will benefit from £15million of government funding for natural flood defences, announced by the Government this week.
Glen Wells, who has lived in Furzebrook for five years, lobbied for the works to be carried out three years ago, but was told then there was no money available.
The father-of-two said his driveway can become covered in up to three inches of water if the brook floods, due to water flowing down from Chineway and Beauvale Close.
The Environment Agency had previously installed a debris collector, stopping branches and cuttings from blocking the water’s flow down to the river.
Mr Wells said: “It can get a couple of feet deep. They [Environment Agency] had put improvements in and they were talking about doing something further upstream, which is what we wanted - anything they can further, that will be great.
“This is a great place to live 364 days of the year - it’s that one day of the year where it gets really bad.”
The Environment Agency and Devon County Council submitted a joint bid for £50,000 of government funding towards natural flood management measures.
Most of the work will be carried out by DCC and will be delivered between now and 2020 to improve soil, woodland and run-off path management.
Floods Minister Thérèse Coffey said: “Flood defence technology and engineering is better than ever and by using a mix of natural and concrete defences, we can provide the best flood protection for individual areas.
“Methods such as restoring floodplains and planting trees will not only help protect families, homes and businesses from flooding, they will also bring environmental benefits to the wider area and all the people who live in these many communities.”
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