ENVIRONMENT Agency engineers have started using radar systems to check out ground conditions around city flood defences.

The agency has prepared a written update for the city council’s environment boss on its plans for better flood defences around York.

The update confirms that ground penetrating radar systems started earlier this month, to check for the presence of underground services near St Peter’s and St Olave’s School playing fields, as well as the Museum Gardens and Memorial Gardens.

That work was completed before the engineers moved on to more intrusive work - small hand dug pits in some places and bigger boreholes drilled by mobile rigs elsewhere - to check ground conditions and existing wall foundations more closely.

The update also confirms that more than a 100 people have dropped into the community hub that has been set up on Wellington Row since it opened at the end of last year, to look at plans and give their feedback on the flood plans.

Beyond that, papers drawn up for a meeting next week show that in many areas of York more detailed proposals are due to be revealed in the next few months.

Among the earliest of those projects will be Clementhorpe, where a public engagement event is planned in March with ground investigation work also due to start this month.

The agency has already suggested that for many areas of York, “slowing the flow” measures on the Foss could help prevent flood waters getting into York in the future. Their update now confirms that in July they plan to publish plans for things like upstream storage areas on Tang Hall and Osbaldwick Becks and “de-culverting” within the city - and that those measures could help some of the areas hardest hit in 2015 like Huntington Road.