TEN areas at high risk of flooding are set to be prioritised for action.

North Yorkshire County Council’s business and environmental services executive members committee has been recommended to launch feasibility studies for schemes to cut the risk from surface and ground water flooding.

The meeting will hear the council will contribute towards an examination by Northumbria Water and the Environment Agency of flooding issues in Great Ayton, where there have been numerous homes flooded in recent years.

It is understood the feasibility schemes will be completed by next April.

The authority will also examine Scarborough, where there have been numerous surface water flood events following storms, including last August when 40 properties were inundated and transport was disrupted.

Other areas among those prioritised on the basis that schemes there would offer the highest benefits from flood risk mitigation include Malton and Norton, Tadcaster, South Craven villages and Filey.

Criteria for inclusion in the prioritised areas included frequency of floods, number of properties and infrastructure affected, the scale of transport disruption and how likely work is to attract third party investment.