Efforts to prevent a repeat of serious flooding in Ilkley will come under the spotlight at a parish council meeting next week.

Councillors and residents are preparing to quiz an Environment Agency engineer about Backstone Beck, which overflowed in 2007 causing hundreds of thousands of pounds of damage.

The visit was organised in response to a call for a re-engineering of the culvert under Leeds Road by Ilkley Parish Council vice chairman Councillor Brian Mann.

Despite a lengthy programme of flood prevention work, nearby residents and business owners say they are left to clear a newly-installed trash screen to prevent the stream overflowing.

Coun Mann said: “That flood was serious and caused serious damage. There’s got to be an engineering solution. That’s what we want to hear from the Environment Agency – any other proposal is likely to be a bodge.”

Work on the beck has included enlarging the water channel, installing large grids to catch debris and clearing out rubbish.

The talk by the Environment Agency engineer will be held at Ilkley Town Hall on Monday, March 1, at 7pm and will precede a full meeting of Ilkley Parish Council.