Repairs to collapsed flood wall set to cost up to £5m
CURRENT DEFENCES CONSIST OF 150 ROCK-FILLED BAGS
A COLLAPSED flood wall protecting 50 Derbyshire homes and businesses could cost up to £5 million to repair.
The Environment Agency (EA) is to repair the wall that acts as a flood defence from the River Derwent in Matlock.
Preparatory work is expected to start early next month, with the EA saying its options are still being assessed. But it is thought it will need to make temporary alterations to Matlock Bridge to reinstate two-way traffic.
This will mean the main construction work can begin in summer to replace the flood wall behind the businesses in Crown Square. The wall collapsed after February’s storms.
A community dropin event at the Imperial Rooms will be held on May 19 between 2.30pm and 5.30pm. This will provide more information about the preparatory work and the impacts on traffic.
The EA says longer-term work to reinstate the River Derwent flood defences follows a temporary measure that was put in place last month.
A hundred two-tonne rock-filled bags were added to the 50 bags that were already in place since February.
Naomi Doughty, project manager for the Environment Agency, said: “It’s great that funding for this major work has been secured to protect 50 homes and businesses in Matlock from flooding.
“We have started to design an engineered solution to replace the collapsed wall that is likely to be delivered in multiple construction phases. We aim to have the bulk of the work in place before the winter.
“We’re keeping a close eye on the construction programme and the need to consider temporary measures as a contingency plan.
“We then expect to continue work in stages throughout 2023 so we can make the structure look more aesthetically pleasing and in-keeping with the local character and heritage of Matlock. “We apologise in advance for any disruption caused by these works, and we’re grateful for the patience and support of the local community.” Derbyshire County Council’s cabinet member for highways assets and transport Councillor Kewal Athwal Singh added: “I’m pleased to see that the Environment Agency have found the money to fix this important part of the flood defences for Matlock.
“We realise that the work will mean some disruption to traffic in the town, but this work needs doing as soon as possible to protect homes and businesses.”
Derbyshire Dales MP Sarah Dines added: “I am absolutely delighted to hear that the Environment Agency will be reinstating the River Derwent flood defences.
“Resolving flooding issues in Derbyshire Dales has been at the top of my list of priorities since my election in 2019.”
It’s great that funding for this major work has been secured to protect homes and businesses from flooding Naomi Doughty