Riverside householders in St Neots have launched a bid to repair a retaining wall which collapsed during floods at Easter last year, making their gardens unsafe to use.

The homes affected are in River Terrace, off the market square and close to the town bridge over the Great Ouse, with the badly damaged brickwork being clearly visible from the riverside park.

Plans for repairs to a number of homes affected by the damage have been submitted to Huntingdonshire District Council, following a similar application from adjacent householders.

They show the repairs being carried out using a London reclaim brick mixture designed to blend in with the remaining structure and piling to reinforce the new wall.

The application said: "The proposed works are within St Neots conservation area and have been designed to a high standard to meet functionality requirements whilst being appropriate in terms of is scale and appearance.

"The works are seen to be a visual improvement to exposed riverbank and will allow the occupants of the properties to regain the use of their rear gardens."

Householders have had to make special arrangements for construction and delivery of materials, including waterborne equipment, because of limited access to the properties.

The planning report said: "Given the restricted vehicle access to the retaining wall and limited access to the gardens of the properties, all construction access, except for minor construction deliveries, will be undertaken via waterborne construction plant from the proposed site compound and loading areas south of the site at Coneygear Court.

"The site compound utilises an existing car park and will be used for site offices and materials storage. A loading area north of the site compound will be reached via a track-matted route over an area of short amenity grassland."

The report added: "It will be used to load barges and craft to transport equipment and materials to complete the work. The loading area will avoid trees. As a precautionary measure, tree protective fencing will be set up outside the tree canopies and mitigation measures, such as ground protection mats will be used to avoid damage to the subsoil."