The Environment Agency is holding a public event today to out its plans to reduce flood risk in Otley, Yorkshire.
Visitors will have an opportunity to meet representatives from Leeds City Council, Environment Agency, Yorkshire Water and WSP (consultants undertaking survey and investigation work).
It will also be a chance to find out more about plans to reduce the risk of flooding in the historic market town and provide feedback, which the team hopes to use in the early stages of the programme to develop the Otley Flood Alleviation Scheme.
The town suffered flooding on three occasions between November and December 2015, which saw 74 properties affected. In the Autumn Statement 2016, Government announced £2 million to invest in a scheme to reduce the risk of flooding to homes and businesses.
The scheme is being led by Leeds City Council working closely with the Environment Agency. Leader of Leeds City Council Councillor Judith Blake said:
“We are firmly committed to taking a whole catchment and citywide approach to flood prevention in Leeds, which is why the plans for the Otley Flood Alleviation Scheme are so important to help provide confidence and reassurance to our communities who currently live in areas of flood risk.”
Work to pull together data to better understand the potential paths of flood water as well as collating historic and recent flood information began earlier this year. The information from the investigations, carried out by consultants, WSP, will be used to update an existing digital model of the River Wharfe which can then help form potential options for a scheme.
The Otley Flood Alleviation Scheme is one of several schemes that is adopting a catchment-wide approach. This means the entire River Wharfe catchment area will be considered to help reduce flood risk. This approach looks at a combination of natural processes and engineered options to help slow the flow and catch water further up the catchment so that flood peaks are reduced further downstream.
£4m Badsey Brook flood scheme open day
Next week the Agency will hold an open day on Wednesday to provide visitors with the opportunity to see the construction works in action for the £4 million Badsey Brook flood scheme in Worcestershire and the progress made to date,
Broadway, Childswickham and Murcot were severely flooded in 2007 following record-breaking rainfall across the area. The £4 million flood storage area in Broadway will be able to hold up to 135,000 cubic metres of water during times of flood and will only allow a set amount of water to flow downstream at times of intense and high rainfall. This will reduce flood risk along the Badsey Brook downstream of Broadway.
The scheme, which will reduce the risk of flooding to around 290 homes and businesses, is due to be completed in spring 2018.
Dan Wilkinson from the Environment Agency said:
“This is a significant scheme for residents living in Broadway, Childswickham and Murcot who know only too well the devastating impact flooding can have. The open day will give them an opportunity to see the work in action and see for themselves how, once completed, the scheme will help reduce the risk of flooding.”