Renewed focus on key bridge to tackle flood risk
A NEW focus on reducing the risk of flooding at a key spot on a main road through the upper Calder Valley – which is often the earliest alert of problems on the ground – is likely.
Almost 20 years ago work was undertaken in the River Calder to try and better control water flow at Callis Bridge, Charlestown, near Hebden Bridge.
Since then climate change has seen severe weather impacts on Calderdale become more serious, and it was a spot being looked at again, flood board partners heard.
Clr Jane Scullion (Lab, Luddenden Foot) said: “Callis Mark 2 – it’s absolutely right in terms of Callis Bridge that we look again at that, in terms of flooding, pluvial and fluvial.
“Callis Bridge is the ‘canary in the coalmine’ – if the A646 is going to be closed anywhere, it will be at Callis Bridge,” she said.
Paul Swales of the Environment Agency said there was a passion for revisiting Callis again.
“The previous scheme was way before partnership funding and struggled to attract funding, but with partnership funding there is a better opportunity and one which looks to put some sort of solution in place.
“It’s not guaranteed there will be one, but we will look at it,” he said.
Calderdale Flood Recovery and Resilience Programme Board heard all available data – modelling, Yorkshire Water’s data, Calderdale Council data and so on – was being gathered by the agency.
This would then be passed on to engineers Arup for review, to see what gaps were there in defences currently and what further work might be required to see if there is a viable project moving forward for Callis Bridge.
Other ongoing works in the upper Calder Valley include a full business case being drafter for Shaw Wood Road, Todmorden.
Agreement on a preferred solution for an “ambitious” project at Walsden needs to be agreed by the end of the year in line with major partner Network Rail timescales – flooding of the line at Walsden has often been a problem at the village.
And interim work to protect the Walsden Water river wall at Back Waterloo, Todmorden, has been completed while more modelling work on a project to deal with issues there is being done, reported Mr Swales.