£44m flood schemes get go-ahead
Two major flood alleviation schemes for the East Riding, each costing £22m, have been given planning permission.
East Riding of Yorkshire Council’s pPlanning committee unanimously approved the two schemes – designed to reduce the risk of flooding in the Cottingham and Orchard Park areas and the Anlaby and East Ella areas – subject to planning conditions.
Together they aim to reduce the flood risk to more than 7,000 properties.
The Cottingham and Orchard Park Flood Alleviation Scheme (COPFAS) includes the creation of nine water storage lagoons along Westfield Road, Eppleworth Road, Cottingham and Orchard Park Road, Hull.
Most of the lagoons will remain as agricultural land and grazing paddocks, which the Orchard Park lagoon will remain as playing fields. They will be dry for the majority of the time, only being filled during extreme events of wet weather.
Work on the scheme is provisionally scheduled to take place between 2017 and 2020, subject to all approvals being in place and successful land purchase agreements.
The Anlaby and East Ella Flood Alleviation Scheme (AEEFAS) involves the creation of a water storage lagoon, alterations to a second lagoon which would be linked together by a large storm water culvert and watercourse.
A surface water collection area would be sited on the existing Easenby Drain site at Kerry Pit, west of Kirk Ella, and the large lagoon built in the grounds of the former Sydney Smith School off First Lane.
As a further part of the scheme there are plans to create a sports facility and sports pitches on the site off Tranby Lane, subject to a further planning application.
Work is scheduled to take place between 2017 and 2020.
The schemes were developed in consultation with the Environment Agency, Yorkshire Water and local flood action groups.
Cllr Stephen Parnaby, leader of the council, said: “I’m pleased these important alleviation schemes are going ahead because they are vital to help protect both these areas from the threat of further flooding.
“The 2007 floods had such a devastating affect on so many people and both East Riding and Hull councils have worked together on these and many other schemes to help prevent that ever happening again.”
Funding for the scheme has already been secured from both the Flood Defence Grant in Aid (FDGiA) administered by the Environment Agency, and the Humber Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP), with a grant from the Local Growth Fund.
