The £6.8 million Godmanchester flood risk management scheme was officially completed last Friday.

The town, which had no formal defences, came very close to being flooded in 1998 and properties within low-lying areas are considered to be at significant risk of internal flooding.

The scheme includes a combination of flood walls and flood embankments alongside the River Great Ouse. Atkins were the design engineers for the scheme. The construction work was managed by Jackson Civil Engineering and included the erection of a flood wall in the rear gardens of private homes backing onto the river Great Ouse.

The ground was first broken on Friday 25 May 2012 by Jonathan Djanogly, MP for Huntingdon, and Steve Wheatley, Chair of the Regional Flood and Coastal Committee, who was instrumental in securing approval for the scheme.

Dr Geoff Brighty, Area Manager for the Environment Agency said:

“Seeing this flood risk management scheme to completion is a great achievement for everyone involved, but particularly for the people of Godmanchester. We have had extreme weather across the country in the past two years, reminding us that many communities are vulnerable to flooding. Today we mark the moment when this historic town’s defences, that will protect people and property, lives and livelihoods for many years to come, were completed”.

The Environment Agency has been working with the Regional Flood & Coastal Committee, Cambridgeshire County Council and Huntingdonshire District Council since 2009 to agree an appropriate way of protecting properties in the town. The scheme was finally approved in January 2012.

Now complete, the new defences will increase the level of flood protection in Godmanchester by reducing the risk of flooding from a 1 in 20 year event to a 1 in 100 year event. The scheme will provide flood protection to 556 properties.

Councillor Ian Bates, one of the Cambridgeshire County Council representatives on the Flood and Coastal Committee said:

“This flood relief scheme will bring great benefit and peace of mind to people living in Godmanchester. By working together in partnership with other organisations such as the Environment Agency and the District Council, we are able to bring forward such major schemes which would be beyond the resources of a single organisation such as the county council, particularly in times of financial restraint.

In total Cambridgeshire County Council and Huntingdonshire District Council contributed £350,000 towards the cost of this important scheme.”

The scheme cost £6.8M to construct and was jointly funded by Defra, Local Authority Local Levy, direct contributions from Cambridgeshire County Council and Huntingdonshire District Council and private resident contributions.