A TASK force meeting was held to tackle flooding in Colchester after heavy downpours caused yet more chaos.

Colchester’s MP Will Quince set up Hythe Taskforce in a bid to finally address struggling infrastructure in the eastern part of the town and help with its regeneration.

Since its inception in May, the group has had a constant spotlight on the persistent flooding in Haven Road, and it was back on the agenda after more bad weather plagued north Essex at the end of last week.

It led to Mr Quince calling the fifth Hythe Taskforce meeting to deal with the latest set of issues.

“I am conscious the flooding on Haven Road has been particularly troublesome due to recent heavy rainfall, and it was in this context I chaired the fifth Hythe Taskforce meeting,” he said.

Read more: Fears taxpayer could foot £70m bill amid concerns link road is two years behind schedule

“I understand the frustrations of many residents surrounding this long-standing flooding issue dating back to at least 2011, however I set this taskforce up to bring the responsible parties together to start seeing action.

“The right organisations are attending and progress is being made.

“The Environment Agency has been busy conducting sample testing on-site and they provided us with a presentation on their finds, including their conclusions surrounding the causes of the flooding and suggested solutions.

“We also received the news Essex Highways are motivated to work with us and arrange an on-site visit.

“The next steps are finding more information on a manhole leak which has been discovered and overflowing water levels at Distillery Pond, before we can conclude the main causes of the Haven Road flooding and action to fix this.”

The task force was set up after a petition was launched, calling for councils and politicians to work together to fix the flooding issues in Haven Road.

The road is overcome whenever heavy rain falls or when there is a high tide in the neighbouring River Colne.

Last year, Velvis Cars left its base in Haven Road and decided to relocate to West Bergholt due, in part, to the flooding.

The task force also looks at issues such as the crumbling quayside in Hythe Quay, on the footpath linking the Hythe and Rowhedge, and the area’s planned regeneration.