WORK to stop future flooding on one of Kendal's arterial roads has been cancelled.

The A684 had been due to close this month for around six weeks but a last minute demand by one of the landowners has forced the scheme to be put on hold, said Cumbria County Council.

A council spokesman said the authority was ready to construct a scheme on the damaged Birklands Culvert - but a spanner has now been thrown in the works.

The spokesman warned there was an increased risk of flooding in the winter - three years on since the culvert was damaged during Storm Desmond.

"Following the extraordinary damage caused by Storm Desmond and its impact on the Birklands Culvert on the A684, Cumbria County Council is ready to construct a scheme that will provide resilience for future flooding events and continued connectivity for this important section of the South Lakeland highway," said the spokesman.

"Due to the nature of the works it was necessary to seek agreement from landowners on both the upstream and downstream sections of the culvert. Agreement was reached with both landowners, and a contractor was programmed to commence works in full at the start of October 2018.

"However, the council has received a last minute demand by one of the landowners, therefore now making it impossible to proceed with this important scheme and the council has no option but to stop any further work and seek to close the site down.

"We appreciate this will significantly inconvenience users of this section of highway over the winter period due to an increase risk of flooding that may close the highway. "However, the council requires legal agreement from all landowners before we can proceed with these works."