Investment in Cheshire East’s flood defences

 

Cheshire East Council (CEC) has received £780,000 in funding to improve its flood defences.

The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) has awarded the grant to the authority to carry out flood management works over the next five years.

With the funding, the Council plans to install CCTV on all water courses within Cheshire East to monitor flooding.

CEC has identified three sites, worst affected by flooding. Flood alleviation schemes will begin in these areas over the next five years:

· Eaton Village in Macclesfield in 2012;

· Astbury Marsh, Newcastle Road in Congleton, from 2013; and

· Coppice Road/Wistaston Road in Willaston, from 2013.

The flood alleviation schemes will take five years to complete and will be carried out by Cheshire East Council’s highways service.

In addition to this, the authority will use some of the funding to improve the water course running parallel to Liverpool Road West in Church Lawton, which has caused flooding in the surrounding area.

The Flood Defence Grant in Aid funding, via Defra, is granted depending on how it will benefit the local community, for example, how many properties are affected by flooding in these areas.

Cheshire East Councillor Rod Menlove, Cabinet member with responsibility for environmental services, said: “I am sure this funding will go a long way to improving flooding in these areas of Cheshire East. I would like to thank Defra for their support and all the officers involved in bidding for this money.

“The affects of climate change show that we will experience increasingly wet weather and we must be prepared for this. These improvements will take time but they will hopefully have a positive impact on alleviating problem flooding for many years to come.”