The Environment Agency has rejected claims by an Enfield golf club that major flood reduction work will leave the course flooded for most of the year.

Enfield Golf Club told the Enfield Independent last week that the scheme to redirect Salmons Brook, which runs from World’s End to Lower Edmonton, would leave the future of the course at risk because of plans to divert floodwater onto two holes rather than homes.

But the Environment Agency, which is in charge of the £14million project, said it had already been granted planning permission in 2005 for a very similar plan, and the amendments in the latest proposals were to install drainage on the course in response to golfers’ concerns.

Flood risk technical specialist Steven Whipp said that the move would actually make the course playable more often than it is now, before the work begins.

He added: “We are installing some mitigating drainage so the course will become playable much quicker than it is currently when it does flood – it will actually benefit them.”

“The course is at a high risk of flooding because it is a natural flood plain. If you look closely at the topography of the course there is actually a one in two chance of flooding in any given year – this happened in 2000, 2003, 2009 and 2011.

“Our proposals would slightly increase the frequency of flooding on the golf course, but not the massive increase in flooding indicated by the golf club. The drainage will mean that the water drains away much more quickly.”

Mr Whipp added that the agency had part-funded an independent engineer to assess the plans in conjunction with the golf club, and the report had found them “reasonable and sound”. A one-off compensation package is also being negotiated.

In October 2000, water from Salmons Brook rushed down Montagu Road and the nearby industrial estate in Edmonton, picking up cars as it ruined 192 nearby houses.

Embankments will be raised along Salmons Walk next to Plevna Road, and a new culvert will be built so the river can flow safely underground in Montagu Road Recreation Ground.

The Environment Agency says the work will reduce the risk of flooding to 700 homes in Edmonton each year from one in 20 to one in 75, and give 2,587 houses more protection from flooding.

The body held a series of consultation meetings around the borough last month and will submit a planning application for the scheme next week.