THIS is the first glimpse of a £3.5m flood defence scheme that aims to protect hundreds of homes and businesses in a New Forest town.

The environment Agency has unveiled plans to prevent any repetition of the floods that swamped properties in Waterloo Road, Lymington, in 1999. The low-lying area, which borders the Lymington River, was hit by a combination of heavy rain and an exceptionally high tide.

Now plans have been drawn up to safeguard houses, offices and the former Webbs chicken factory site, where a developer wants to build a 100-bed hotel and more than 300 homes.

The Environment Agency is proposing to install 860m of sheet piling alongside the railway line between Bridge Road and the old Ampress site.

Engineers are also planning to raise the level of the road surface on the bridge and install floodgates that could be closed in an emergency.

However the agency will have to consult the New Forest National Park Authority and English Nature. An agency spokesman said the site was next to reed beds that had been designated a Site of Special Scientific Interest because of their national and international importance to wild birds.

The new defences will be built next year if the scheme is given the go-ahead and the necessary funding can be obtained.

An agency spokesman said: "Funding approval is competed for on a national basis and all projects are evaluated using a combination of social, environmental and economic benefits.

"We cannot yet confirm whether this scheme will achieve the necessary 'priority score' to go ahead."

An exhibition of the proposals was being staged at Lymington Town Hall yesterday and will also be held tomorrow between 9am and 8pm.