WORK is set to be begin on a multi-million-pound flood scheme in East Yorkshire.

A ceremony will be held today to mark the start of construction on the Pocklington Flood Alleviation Scheme (PockFAS), which is designed to reduce the risk of flooding to around 140 properties in Pocklington.

The town was badly affected by flooding in the summer of 2007 and has suffered further flooding since then.

The new scheme, costing £4.7 million, involves the construction of a dam, to create a water storage reservoir, upstream and north east of the town, off The Mile.

The dam is designed to capture and store flood waters from Pocklington Beck at times of heavy rainfall, to prevent it from causing flooding in the town.

It will be capable of storing up to around 90,000 cubic metres of water – the equivalent of 36 Olympic-sized swimming pools.

The works will involve the construction of a large embankment approximately 600m long and up to 4.5m high, at its highest point, plus the construction of a flow control structure. Together they are designed to hold back flood water and release flows in a controlled manner.

The project is due for completion in spring 2019.

The scheme is being delivered by East Riding of Yorkshire Council in partnership with the Environment Agency and supported by the Yorkshire Regional Flood and Coastal Committee.

It is being funded by Flood Defence Grant in Aid and Local Levy, administered by the Environment Agency; Local Growth Fund money through the York, North Yorkshire and East Riding Local Enterprise Partnership Growth Deal; and by housing developer Persimmon Homes Yorkshire.

York-based Persimmon Homes made a £3million contribution.

It followed the approval of plans for a development of 207-homes nearby. The site had already been allocated for housing in the council’s Local Plan subject to the delivery of a flood scheme to benefit Pocklington.

Work on the Pocklington flood scheme will be carried out by council contractor NM Group (North Midland Construction Plc).

Cllr Symon Fraser portfolio holder for strategic asset management, housing and environment at East Riding of Yorkshire Council, said: “This is an example of another fantastic partnership-funded flood scheme, and in this case a local developer has contributed the lion’s share of the funding to allow us to deliver these essential improvements.“The scheme will reduce flood risk to many properties in Pocklington and I look forward to seeing the scheme progress over the coming months.”