Drop in and find out about £46m flood defence scheme
TWO public ‘drop-in sessions’ are to be held to discuss a massive flood defence scheme in Rochdale and Littleborough.
As the Observer reported in July work on the £46m project to protect hundreds of homes and businesses is due to begin next summer.
It’s hoped it will help prevent a repeat of the devastation caused in the town during the 2015 Boxing Day floods.
The first session will take place on Tuesday at Hare Hill House, Littleborough from 3pm to 7pm.
It will provide an overview of work conducted so far and members of the project team will be on hand to share information.
A second session will be held on Monday, September 24, at Number One Riverside from 3pm to 7pm.
The scheme will see a series of huge storage reservoirs built along the River Roch and its tributaries from Littleborough to the town centre. Raised walls and improvements to culverts and bridges, are also planned for Green Vale Brook, Town House Brook, Ealees Brook, Buckley Brook and Hey Brook.
A total of 1,000 homes and 200 businesses will be protected by the scheme.
It’s also hoped it will prevent flood damage to the Metrolink, the bus interchange, colleges, an electricity substation and waste water treatment works, which were all severely affected in 2015.
Some 324 homes and businesses in Rochdale and Littleborough were severely damaged and 18,000 properties were left without power as record river levels saw the Roch burst its banks in several places during the 2015 flood. Rochdale town centre was also flooded for the first time in recorded history.
Nick Pearson, from the Environment Agency said, “Since the Boxing Day floods in 2015 the Environment Agency and Rochdale council have been exploring ways to better protect the area in the future. This has included extensive appraisal work to identify the best ways of investing both government and partner funding in improved flood defences.
“We are now pleased to be in a position to share the latest developments for managing future flood risk in Littleborough and Rochdale with the community. Initial design proposals for the Rochdale and Littleborough flood risk management scheme have been developed and will be on display during the community drop-in events. This will show residents the work that is proposed for the scheme including, raising defences at key locations along the river’s edge, flood storage and using natural flood risk management techniques to boost local regeneration.
“The upcoming drop-in sessions are a great opportunity for us to share all the development options with local residents. We would encourage everyone to come along to learn more about our ongoing work, to contribute to the designs by sharing their views and thoughts on the plans and to see how they can continue to be involved as project develops.”