Burton flood defence scheme right on schedule

The Environment Agency has reported that the flood defence scheme which is currently underway in Burton-upon-Trent in Staffordshire are on schedule for the predicted completion date in the March of 2021.

According to the Environment Agency, the £30M flood defence project which has already started at Blackpool Street and at Paget High School is currently on track, with work soon to commence at the local library and leisure centre over the course of the next few weeks.

Preparation work has already begun at the sites of the library and leisure centre defences and the appointed contractors have been working in close partnership with the local community so as to minimise the disruption to the public.

The aforementioned contractors, appointed by the Environment Agency, include Galliford Try and Black & Veatch, who began their construction of the flood defences on the 28^th June and are following on from improvement works which were undertaken in 2007.

Current works will see to the improvement of 3.7km of the existing 9km of defences that protect the Midland market town.

A spokesperson from the Environment Agency stated: “We are proud to be delivering better flood protection for the people of Burton. The recent high river levels are a timely reminder of why this work to protect 4,500 homes and over 1,000 businesses from flooding is essential.

“From the rain the other week, we saw The Washlands flooded, with water coming up to the flood defences. Without the existing defences, parts of the town would have flooded, we last saw levels like this in 2000, 2007 and 2012.

“As well as having flood defences, we are also urging people to know their flood risk and sign up for alerts and warnings so everyone can be prepared when the risk of flooding is high.”

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