Culvert repairs underway in Derbyshire

Repair work has begun today on the damaged culvert which carries the Hogshaw Brook in Buxton, Derbyshire, underneath the Lightwood Road area with the work taken on by the Environment Agency and Derbyshire County Council.

Repair work to this culvert comes shortly after the Environment Agency commissioned JBA Bentley to repair the culvert at Earby in Lancashire using pipe bursting techniques, while it was also recently discovered that the Hogshaw Brook culvert was damaged during the recent heavy rainfall which threatened to overflow the Derbyshire dam of Whaley Bridge.

The area under which the culvert runs is owned by various different people as the culvert flows underneath various different properties, so funding for the repair works would, under the usual circumstances, take a considerable amount of time.

As a result, the Environment Agency and the Derby County Council have elected to jointly fund the repair works so that they can be completed as swiftly as possible in the interest of public safety.

The Environment Agency commented: “We have been working closely with Derbyshire County Council to find a suitable repair for the damaged area of the culvert and have agreed the funding to enable it to go ahead quickly. We are confident that the works will restore the culvert to a safe condition.”

Derbyshire County Council’s Cabinet Member for Highways Transport and Infrastructure, Councillor Simon Spencer stated: “We understand this has been distressing for residents so we’re pleased we’ve been able to work closely with the Environment Agency to appoint a contractor to repair the culvert at the earliest opportunity.”

Following the completion of the culvert repairs the Environment Agency will stay partnered with the Derbyshire County Council to carry out a full assessment of the county and identify any other flood risks so that a coordinated method of approach and mitigation can be taken so as to prevent any other crises such as those at Whaley Bridge.

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