I had a very constructive meeting earlier with Ollie Hope, who's the Cheshire Flood Risk Manager from the Environment Agency, to discuss progress on interim measures since Storm Christoph in 2021 which will reduce the risk of flooding in Dallam and Sankey Bridges. Here's a quick summary:
- Rostherne Close, Sankey Bridges - A sandbag wall has been constructed as an interim contingency measure and has since been strengthened to prevent flood flow route from Sankey Brook channel.
- Higham Avenue – Warrington Borough Council has worked in collaboration with United Utilities and a project to upgrade two pumps, install new electrics and raise the electric cabinet to a higher level to prevent failure in the event of flooding has been completed.
- Charter Avenue - New valves have now been installed, successfully protecting multiple properties from flooding.
- Densham Avenue - Due to repeated flooding events, Warrington Borough Council, in collaboration with United Utilities and the Environment Agency, designed and implemented a new pump station to reduce the risk of future flooding to Densham Avenue. The project involved the demolition of the previous drainage system outfall into Dallam Brook and the construction of a new pumping station. Three new pumps were installed to help surface water from the drainage system into Dallam Brook.
The Environment Agency are planning further public community drop-in sessions in the coming weeks which will include more details about a full scheme to provide even better protection to the 600 homes which were impacted by Storm Christoph. I'll post dates and venues nearer the time.
If your property is at risk of flooding you can sign up to the Environment Agency’s free alert service by calling Floodline on 0345 988 1188, or by going online: Sign up for flood warnings - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
