MUCH-NEEDED flood defences at Castley have moved a step closer to reality after gaining the approval of Harrogate planners.

Castley Lane residents have welcomed the announcement that the Environment Agency's £500,000-plus scheme has gained planning consent from Harr-ogate Council officers acting under delegated powers.

The scheme now requires the full consent of the Environment Agency and the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA).

The Environment Agency's Yorkshire Regional Flood Defence Committee is expected to discuss the Castley Flood Alleviation Scheme at its meeting in York today.

Several residents of Castley Lane wrote to Harrogate Council supporting plans for the flood defences.

Castley Lane resident Alison Denman said her family is still living upstairs, awaiting work to repair damage done by floods in February this year. She said residents welcomed Harrogate Council's decision, but look forward to the scheme going ahead in full.

Mrs Denman said: "It's fantastic news, but we're still waiting for the confirmation that its going ahead. Until that happens, we'll still have that feeling in the stomach that we've only got a few months to wait before the floods start again."

Mrs Denman said Castley Lane residents have to remain alert through the October to March 'flooding season', as flooding as become an annual threat in recent years.