MINERAL extraction that causes flooding in and around the Cotswold Water Park is to be investigated by a new group set up by Cotswold District Council.

Members of the Audit and Scrutiny Committee at CDC voted to launch the group after hearing concerns from residents living close to the Water Park.

Cllr Ray Theodoulou said: “The communities in the areas that I represent have been flooded and the issue is becoming an even greater problem.

“Residents are fearful that they are going to be surrounded by lakes and that their whole lives will be change over the next 10 years because of this.”

The new group, made up of three committee members, will look to examine whether there is a pattern in incidents of flooding that could be linked directly to mineral extraction.

Mineral extraction is currently taking place at four sites across the Cotswold Water Park, with one significant site located close to the village of Kempsford.

Cllr Theodoulou said: “This group is driven by the threats to the community and the way their area is going to look in the next 10 years.”

The working group will report its findings back to the Audit and Scrutiny Committee at a meeting on Tuesday, March 18.