A feasibility study into raising the Welney Causeway will take place a year earlier than planned.

The £50,000 study, which will be funded by the Anglian Regional Flood and Coastal Committee (RFCC), will start before the end of the financial year.

It will determine the costs of raising the A1101 Welney Causeway to stop it flooding for many weeks at a time during the winter, how the project can be delivered and its potential benefits.

MP Steve Barclay, who discussed funding for the feasibility study with RFCC chairman Steve Wheatley earlier this month, welcomed the news.

He said: “This is great news. I know how frustrated people living in the area are at having to take lengthy and costly detours every winter.

“There is still some way to go but it is fantastic to hear the feasibility study will now be completed this year – a whole 12 months earlier than previously anticipated.”