COUNCIL bosses are now testing plans to keep a historic mill's floodgates open in a bid to protect villages from flooding in the coming months.

Essex County Council has announced it will keep the water gates at Alderford Mill in Sible Hedingham open this winter.

It is hope the move at the Grade 2 listed watermill, which sits on the River Colne, will protect villages such as the Hedingham from excessive flooding during the damper months.

A trial is being run by Essex County Council to keep the gates open until March 31 next year.

Historically, the gates were raised and lowered at specific times to allow more water through at the mill.

But council bosses feel the old-fashion approach council spell danger for those controlling the gate regularly and are concerned about the impact letting a large volume of water pour downstream suddenly council have.

In a letter to residents, councillor Graham Butland said: "We recently held a meeting with councillors, the Environment Agency and ECC staff to discuss the issues at this location and what we can do in the short and long term to try and resolve these issues.

"The meeting looked at different options to allow the Mill to operate whilst being mindful of the need to manage periods of heavy rain and associated water flow to mitigate against local flooding considering the impact of our actions on the local environment and whether there would be any impact up or downstream from this location.

"It was agreed that for this winter on a trial basis we will be opening the Mill gates and keeping them open until March 31.

"It is considered that the reduced level of water held upstream of the Mill will give this part of the River Colne a greater capacity to deal with the very high flow periods occurring over winter.

"Ecologist colleagues at the Environment Agency and Essex Wildlife Trust have advised that, by opening the gates at this time of year, this could also have a benefit to the ecological health of the river and the wildlife in it."

The move comes after Hedingham councillor Jo Beavis led suggestions for flood prevention in the area.

She added: "This year I raised the issue at Braintree District Council Full Council Meeting about the need to invest some time thinking about the impact of flooding from the river Colne in extreme weather conditions.

"The £5m Halstead Dam is protecting Halstead and now, I believe, a smaller flood elevation project may have to be considered to protect homes and the environment on the boundary of Sible Hedingham and the Maplesteads.

"I have been listening to and working with local residents due to the amount of local flooding and in October the flood was so accessive it entered the most precious of Essex County Council's watermills.

"A local group FOAM Friends of Alderford Mill carry out a super job opening this stunning and working watermill several times a year.

"I would like to thank councillor Graham Butland at Essex County Council who has listened to me, local residents and partners and held an emergency meeting to listen and understand the issues.

"A pilot has been put in place to hopefully help resolve issues in the short term however I believe we, as a partnership, must be open to investment in this area of the Ward I represent in the future."