ONLY two thirds of flood defence work in Rothbury can be completed because a landowner has refused access permission.
Improvements to the flood defences of 34 homes got underway on September 8, two days after severe flooding.
But the last stretch of the culvert, at Townfoot, will not be updated because permission for access has not been given.
Funded by the North
umbria Regional Flood Defence Committee, the project involves replacing sections of an old stone culvert in the Coplish Burn with steel and concrete pipes, and strengthening the existing culvert to prevent it leaking during heavy rain.
Rothbury councillor Steven Bridgett said: "My opinion is that if you are going to do a job you have got to do it properly and to do it properly they have got to have access to all 270m of it.
"They have to be able to access it all to make sure that the flooding doesn't happen again."
The first section of the work at Brewery Lane is now complete. The next phase includes relining and culvert replacement works from Lee Close to Riverside with work expected to last for four weeks.
But the last phase is not expected to be complete until next year.
Environment Agency flood technical specialist Stephen Wilkinson said: "We've been in negotiations since February to gain access to the remaining 30 metres of the culvert in order to compete a full upgrade of the flood alleviation works along Coplish Burn.
"We're continuing to look at this and other options to ensure the risk of flooding is reduced in Rothbury."
But the Agency said that if the improvements were made before the floods, the Coquet would still had flooded.
Area flood risk manager Ian Hodge said: "In preparing for these improvement works before the recent floods, we had installed new trash screens to stop blockages and removed 30 tonnes of debris from the culvert.
"But such was the extreme nature of the flood, that even if the culvert improvements had been totally completed, it would not have prevented the recent flooding from the River Coquet.
"With the River Coquet over topping the existing flood bank at Riverside, we now need to investigate whether new defences can be built in the future."
The burn flows beneath the centre of the village before joining the Coquet at Riverside.
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