The Environment Agency is holding a public information session today on work to improve flood defences in parts of Skipton town centre in North Yorkshire which are set to start in the near future.

Four sites in the town centre have been targeted for improvements as part of the Environment Agency’s £13 million Skipton Flood Alleviation Scheme.

The Skipton Flood Alleviation Scheme will reduce the risk of flooding from Eller Beck and Waller Hill Beck which often swell very quickly after heavy rain. Two flood storage areas upstream of Skipton will be built to slow the flow of water from surrounding hills, reducing the risk of the watercourses overtopping in the town centre. Work on the first of these – at Eller Beck near Skipton Golf Club – has already begun and it is hoped that construction of a second dam across Waller Hill Beck will start later this summer.

Members of the Environment Agency project team and representatives from its contractors, who will be undertaking the works, will be in attendance to answer any questions and to address any local concerns.

Skipton has a long history of flooding and the cost of a major flood in the town would run into many millions of pounds, with hundreds of homes and businesses at risk. It is estimated that economic damage alone would add up to £15 million. There could also be a significant threat to human life caused by the rapid onset of flooding.