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Caldew Flood Risk Management Scheme

The proposed schemes on these pages are currently still in the appraisal stage meaning funding has not been secured. There is therefore no guarantee that these schemes will secure funding and progress to a completed flood scheme. For more information on how Flood Risk Management Schemes are funded and delivered, please visit our dedicated page here.

 

Information on this page has been provided by the Environment Agency and was correct at the time of upload. The Flood Hub is not responsible for any information held on this page. For any enquiries, see the Contact section of the page.

Overview

These pages describe work the Environment Agency (EA) is undertaking to reduce flood risk in areas of Carlisle adjacent to the River Caldew; this includes communities in the Denton Holme, Caldewgate, Shaddongate and Willowholme areas of the city. This is part of the EA’s ongoing work to reduce and manage flood risk across the City of Carlisle.

This area of the city is at risk of flooding from the River Caldew. Flooding in this area can occur directly as a result of extreme flood flows in the River Caldew, or in some areas, indirectly due to high flows in the River Eden which lead to correspondingly high levels on the lower reaches of the River Caldew.

Further information on the areas affected by this scheme and the causes of flooding in this area can be found here.

After Storm Desmond in 2015, a study was undertaken which looked into ways of reducing flood risk across the city. At this time, the most feasible option focused on improvements to the river channel and existing flood defences. Recent work has shown that this is no longer a viable option to further reduce flood risk in this area of Carlisle and the EA are unable to continue investing in this option.

Furthermore, there have been several recent updates to the methods that the EA use to assess flood risk. This includes future flood risk based on climate change predictions. There have also been changes to the ways the EA can apply for funding.

Further information on the work the EA have undertaken in this area since Storm Desmond can be found here.

In order to explore the best possible solutions, the EA have secured funding to investigate a range of options that have not been possible to date. Over the next 18 months, the EA will be undertaking a series of studies, which they will refer to as feasibility assessments. The EA will assess a series of new options with the aim of providing long term, and climate resilient, flood risk management for this area of the city.

You can find out more information about the work undertaken to date, and the EA’s ambitions for the Caldew Flood Risk Management Scheme here.