Designs for £5m flood defences for seaside town to be finalised

Scarborough Borough Council’s cabinet agreed yesterday to accept a £396,000 grant from the Environment Agency to undertake studies and develop designs for the multi-million pound project at Filey.

Residents and business owners in the seaside town have endured major problems since 2000 with some of the worst flash flooding in August 2002 and July 2007 which caused a total of almost £10m in damage to 200 properties.

The defence scheme would involve creating earthwork channels around Filey to intercept run-off water from agricultural land before it overwhelms the existing drainage system. The intercepted water would be diverted towards the sea and temporarily contained in storage areas.

Scarborough Borough Council’s cabinet member responsible for flood protection, Coun Mike Cockerill, who is also the chairman of the Filey Flood Working Group, welcomed the decision to accept the Environment Agency’s grant.

He said: “This is a significant milestone in our 10-year campaign to get protection for the many hundreds of homes and businesses in Filey at risk from flooding. At last we are seeing some light at the end of the tunnel. When this scheme is in place the risk of flooding from a particularly ferocious downpour will be significantly reduced and hopefully residents will have the peace of mind that their homes are better protected.”

The Environment Agency is planning to contribute £3.2m towards the final scheme’s estimated £5m cost, with the borough council and other authorities funding the shortfall.

Yorkshire Water has already helped reduce the risk of flooding after spending £3.4m to upgrade sewers and build a large underground storage tank. Detailed designs for the Filey Flood Alleviation Scheme are due to be finalised by the spring of next year, with a planning application expected to be submitted in the same period. It is hoped the defences could then be completed during the 2014/15 financial year.

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