IT HAS been 10 years in the making. It could have been destroyed in an instant. But Builth Wells’ latest leisure facility survived not one but two storm scares last weekend.

Ahead of last weekend, those responsible for bringing the pump track to Builth had been asking for volunteers to assemble on Saturday, February 19, to help build a fence around the new track, which has been constructed on land behind the football club’s Lant Field home at the north end of the Groe. By Monday morning (February 21) a huge clean-up operation was underway in the aftermath of Storms Eunice and Franklin.

The finishing touches had only been applied to the pump track early last week – when disaster struck as Powys was engulfed by a series of shocking weather.

First, on Friday afternoon (February 18) the gale-force winds of Eunice caused a beach tree near to the track to fall, crashing through security fencing and causing damage to some of the turf and track.

Then, as Franklin brought a deluge of rain that saw the River Wye burst its banks and climb towards record levels, the track was enveloped by water, damaging the turf further and leaving the track covered in silt and debris by the time the water had subsided on Monday morning.

County Times: The flood engulfs the track on Sunday evening The flood engulfs the track on Sunday evening

But the people behind the pump track have remained upbeat – and are still hoping to officially open the it by mid-March.

“The tree fell down across the track Friday and then the floods came Sunday so it couldn’t have come at a worse time,” said Bonna Williams, of the Builth Bike Bash, who have been fighting for a pump track for Builth for a decade.

“After the wind and then the flood, I was asking myself ‘what’s happening next, a volcano?’. We were running out of natural disasters.”

It’s been a dream a decade in the making for Bonna and the Builth Bike Bash crew – with the bulk of the pump track work finished the week before last, having begun just a month earlier.

Contractors JB Extreme Landscapes Ltd had just about finished the majority of the project before the beach tree crashed down on it and threatened all their hard work at around 1.30pm last Friday.

“Saturday was going to be a day of fence building – instead it turned into a tree removal session,” said Bonna, who joked that at least they had plenty of extra wood now.

“When the tree went down, my phone was red hot. We’ve had a lot of help, it was a big tree so it took a lot of moving.

“The floods then moved some of the turf around as it’s fresh down, as well as leaving mud and debris all over it, but there’s no real damage which is good to know going forward.

“We knew we were building on a flood plain but the track has dried out. Nobody was hurt, the fence wasn’t up so the damage was pretty minimal. It’s withstood the forces of nature, which is testament to how well it’s been built.”

County Times: Stunning aerial shots from local firm Tremio show the excellent work done to the track before the storms hit Stunning aerial shots from local firm Tremio show the excellent work done to the track before the storms hit

Photos taken by Bonna and others captured the drama and devastation, with the river flowing right up and over into the middle of the track at around 5pm on Sunday.

“The pump track took another hit last night. Flood this time,” said the Builth Bike Bash on their Facebook page.

“The water came up much higher than the photo, taken about 5pm, but there was very little damage. Credit to JB Extreme Landscapes. They have built us a mighty strong track.”

Bonna said an original date of early March had been planned to unveil it to the town, but that will probably be put back a few weeks now to the middle of March. A grand opening, meanwhile, is being planned for Sunday, April 24.