Work to repair flood defences in a Northumberland town, which were damaged during the winter floods has started.
Recovery work at Corbridge will be carried out by the Environment Agency and will permanently repair flood defences. Work on the project which started this week, will take place in three locations and includes the repair of a 20 metre scour to the inside of a flood bank, repairing 10 metres of bank erosion and the installation of 6 metre long sheet piles to stabilise the toe of an embankment.
The work is part of a £3million Environment Agency recovery programme to restore damaged flood defences. It will permanently repair flood defences to the standard of protection they provided before the winter flooding this past December.
Floods Minister Thérèse Coffey said:
“It is fantastic to see Corbridge’s critical flood defences being strengthened once again - showing how determined we are not just to protect the village, but the whole of the North East.”
“Northumberland is an area of great natural beauty and culture and we’re committed to completing all repairs to defences ahead of the coming winter. That’s why we’re investing £3 million in flood recovery here, to make sure homes and businesses are ready for this winter.”
Work has also started in Skinningrove as part of the Environment Agency’s multi-million pound flood recovery programme.
Repair work in the village includes channel clearance and replacement and repairs to debris screens on the Kilton Beck, as well as improving access so they can be cleaned and maintained. The flood defences in the village were upgraded in a project completed in September 2015, meaning the bridge parapets at Zetland Row now lower automatically at the push of a button, rather than having to be lowered manually. It significantly reduces the time needed to ensure the flood gates are closed and parapets are lowered when river levels are high.
Tynedale was the North East area most affected by winter floods, which saw record rainfall drop on to already saturated land, leading to some of the highest river levels since 1771.
Alan Cadas, Environment Agency Operations Manager for the North East said the storms in the past winter had a terrible impact on people’s lives, homes and businesses and the Agency was in the process of carrying out repair works across the North East.
The Environment Agency is working closely with Northumbrian Water and local authorities to carry out recovery projects. Since December the Environment Agency, Northumberland County Council and Northumbrian Water have been working together to tackle flooding in the Tyne Valley.
This includes repairs to flood defences, sewer network maintenance, repairs to the highways infrastructure and improving community resilience.
Work to identify what more can be done to reduce the risk of flooding in affected communities and to increase resilience to flooding is also underway.
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