£30,000 beck clear-up project aims to reduce flooding risk for town

The Environment Agency is spending 30,000 clearing Mill Beck, which runs along a series of underground tunnels, or culverts, through the centre of the town.

A suction tank is being used to remove debris and the flow of the beck is being controlled during working hours to protect staff on site, which may increase water levels above the town but is not expected to become a flood risk.

Environment Agency project manager James Markham said: "The culvert itself is large enough to take any floodwater that might come down the beck but it can get blocked with gravel and silt. Every few years we need to go in and remove it.

"We estimate that the work will take up to eight weeks. We will keep disruption to a minimum but will need to close one residential road.

"We have written to home-owners in the area to explain what we are doing and why it is important to protect them and their property."

He added: "If we do get heavy rainfall and the beck started to rise we would halt the work. We do this kind of maintenance in summer when river flows are naturally low."