THE £19 million upgrade to York’s Foss Barrier pumping station has reached another milestone with the removal of 550 concrete blocks, each weighing more than two tonnes.

The Environment Agency installed the concrete blocks in the St George’s Field car park after the Boxing Day floods of 2015, in which the pumping station was overwhelmed by the sheer volume of water coming down the River Foss.

The station’s failure led to many homes and businesses upstream being flooded and the agency drew up plans to install much more powerful pumps.

The blocks were used to created a temporary platform to house equipment and generators needed to run water pumps while the agency increased the size of the original building to house larger pumps.

All of the cables, control equipment and generators have now been moved into their new home in the newly constructed first floor of the Foss Barrier building.

The removal of the platform is expected to be completed by the end of the month.

The concrete blocks will then be re-used at other agency sites and the area returned to parking by the end of the year.