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People were put in danger of being flooded, it has been revealed, because road resurfacing work meant floodgates could not be closed.
As the Isle of Sheppey faced one of the highest tides of the year at the weekend, the Environment Agency ordered all gates to be shut.
But a steel gate at Crundall’s Wharf, Queenborough, could not be closed because it stuck recent resurfacing work, leaving the town at the mercy of the elements.
The flood gates would not close, putting residents at risk
Harbour manager Emma Crompton said: “The car park had been resurfaced four weeks ago.
"Contractors were told it was essential the floodgate could be closed but it seems they left the surface a little too high. Some of the material will have to be scraped off and relaid."
After contacting the car park’s owners, contractors returned yesterday to relay the surface.
The work to fill in a number of deep potholes was arranged by pharmaceutical company Aesica in conjunction with Queenborough Harbour Trust.
The trust manages the wharf which gives access to the all-tide landing stage.
A witness, who did not want to be named, said: “It was an exceptionally high spring tide at the weekend. I could see the waves just inches from the top of the seawall.
"It was only luck there was no strong onshore wind that Queenborough wasn’t flooded.”
The flood gates would not close, putting residents at risk
A spokesman for the Environment Agency confirmed it had ordered all floodgates to be closed to protect property but denied Queenborough was at risk.
He said: “We always have a contingency plan. If there had been a problem we would have sandbagged the gate. There was no danger that Queenborough would have flooded.”
He said the Agency was investigating why the gate could not be closed on Saturday.
It is one of 16 floodgates which protect the Island. Most were installed in the mid-1980s.
The flood gates would not close, putting residents at risk
It was during that work that a high spring tide, whipped up by a north-easterly wind, burst over the seawall and flooded Sheerness.
Neptune’s Jetty, which is undergoing a £1million refurbishment by the Environment Agency, was completely covered by the high tide this weekend.
Queenborough had two new £2.5 million harbour gates installed last year.
