£3.2m flood defence boost for York (From York Press)

£3.2m flood defence boost for York

5:19pm Thursday 9th February 2012 in News By Mike Laycock, Chief reporter

A £3.2 MILLION upgrade of vital York flood defences will go ahead later this year after the Government approved funding.

The Environment Agency will raise and strengthen embankments which protect hundreds of homes in the Leeman Road area when the River Ouse flooded.

The embankments themselves came within inches of being overtopped when the river rose to record levels in November 2000.

An agency spokeswoman today said the Water End Flood Alleviation Scheme was designed to reduce the risk of flooding to approximately 400 homes and businesses.

“The agency has been consulting with the community and other key stakeholders for two years as part of its planning and design process,” she said.

Project manager Bethany Gardner said a significant financial contribution from City of York Council last year had enabled the agency to continue with design and preparatory work, and it now planned to start construction in the autumn.

“However, before construction can take place, it will be necessary to divert a high voltage cable which runs alongside Water End and under the existing flood bank,” she said.

“We are working with the power supplier, Northern Power Grid, and other key partners, such as the local authority and Yorkshire Water, to determine how best this can be achieved so any local disruption is kept to a minimum. We hope to start work on the cable diversion in the next few months.”

She said the detailed design would be finalised after taking account of residents’ views at a community drop-in event on January 10, and it hoped to be able to submit a planning application next month or in April.

Coun Dave Merrett, Cabinet Member for City Strategy at the council, hailed the announcement as ‘fantastic news,’ which he was sure would be a huge relief for local residents and make a real difference to improving their lives.

Holgate councillor Joe Riches said hundreds of signatures had been collected locally for a petition, calling on the Government to award the necessary funding.