£46m flood defences close to launch
ANEW flood defence for Rochdale, hailed as one of the largest inland schemes in the north west, is expected to take its first long-awaited steps next month.
Works on the further development of the multimillion pound flood defence scheme have progressed, with detailed designs for Phase 1a now nearing completion.
The Environment Agency had previously said they hoped to submit a planning application by autumn 2019, with a start date of spring 2020.
However, this appears to have been delayed with the first planning application for features such as the Littleborough flood walls and works at the proposed storage basin, expected to be submitted in late January 2020 at the earliest.
A £46m flood defence project to cover Rochdale and Littleborough was announced in 2018 by the government.
If everything goes to plan, work would begin on the ground in late summer/early autumn 2020, with further applications for Littleborough and Rochdale (‘Phase 2’ of the project) to follow.
The news comes just over four years since the Boxing Day deluge in 2015 caused the River Roch to burst its banks, flooding more than 300 homes and causing thousands of pounds of damage.
This year also saw the borough hit by serious flooding on multiple occasions, with residents telling the Observer in August how they were ‘on pins’ every time it rains heavily.
The Government describes the scheme as one of the largest inland flood defence schemes in the north west, expecting it to deliver £455m worth of benefits over its lifetime.
They say it will improve flood protection for 1,000 residential properties and 200 local businesses, as well as major infrastructure such as the tram network, the bus interchange, colleges, a grid substation and the waste water treatment works.
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.
Nick Pearson, senior advisor in the Environment Agency’s Flood and Coastal Resilience Team, said: “This is a great achievement for the scheme and we are pleased to have the detailed design for Phase 1a nearing completion.
“A lot of hard work has gone into the application and the engagement with residents to get to this stage.
“We are proud of the progress the team has made and we hope 2020 will be an extremely busy year for the scheme, with two planning applications potentially submitted and a start to the site works.”
A public drop-in to update residents on the scheme’s progress will be held in January, with the date yet to be confirmed.