Around 100 homes and businesses, across the North West, will be better protected from flooding following the completion of preventative works by the Environment Agency and its partners.
The work, including culvert repairs and the construction of a new flood defence wall, was carried out to tackle main river flooding in areas including Warrington, Wigan, Bacup and Oldham.
In Warrington, a further 16 properties on Charter Avenue will be better protected against the threat of flooding with the creation a new flood defence wall on Dallam Brook. Homes on Charter Avenue have experienced flooding several times over the last 20 years and would have remained at high risk without the implementation of the new defences.
The flood wall will also add an additional level of protection to Warrington as a whole by complementing the town’s multi-million pound flood defence scheme, opened in January 2018, which protects more than 200 homes and businesses.
In Wigan, 28 homes in Atherton will have a greater level of protection after works were finalised on Bag Lane culvert. This latest round of flood risk management activity is in addition to 29 other houses in the same area protected by work the Environment Agency completed last year.
Additionally, Oldham Council have recently completed a flood scheme to protect 30 properties on Broomes Park.
Further north , 54 homes in Bacup have also been given a flood protection boost following the completion of culvert repairs on Greave Clough Brook.
Peter Costello, Area Flood and Coastal Risk Manager for the Environment Agency said: “One of our biggest priorities is keeping the communities we serve safe from the risk of flooding so I am delighted to see these preventative works coming to fruition across the North West.
“The range of improvements carried out in Warrington, Wigan, Oldham and Lancashire will help to control the flow of water, diverting it away from local residents and businesses, which have been badly affected in the past and is a great example of agencies coming together to provide a long term sustainable solutions to the issue of flooding.
“While we could never guarantee that an area will be completely flood free, these measures go a long way to providing an increased level of protection for properties as well as greater peace of mind for local people.”
To date, The Environment Agency and Local Authorities have better protected more than 4,380 homes in Greater Manchester, Merseyside and Cheshire from flooding over the last 5 years. By March 2021, the Environment Agency hopes to increase this figure to in excess of 7,000 as part of their ongoing Flood and Coastal Risk Management strategy.
Images show the new flood defence wall on Dallam Brook.
