February 7, 2014 1.01 pm This story is over 126 months old

Council gets funding for Lincoln flood prevention

Flooding prevention: Lincolnshire County Council has been granted extra funding to start a flood protection project in the Stamp End area of Lincoln.
The River Witham at the Stamp End lock, as seen from the Stamp End footbridge. Photo: Dave Hitchborne

Lincolnshire County Council has been granted more than £250,000 extra funding for flood protection in the Stamp End area of Lincoln.

The funding comes from the government’s latest flood prevention and maintenance initiative, totalling more than £100 million.

Floods in 2007 badly affected the Stamp End area of Lincoln.

High river levels and heavy run-off from surface water led to significant property damage and the evacuation of hundreds of people from Shuttleworth House and homes in the area.

To avoid flooding in the area, the County Council needs to prevent river water flooding back through the drains.

This would be achieved through a £750,000 project by installing a more sophisticated outlet pipe to channel drainage water into the river.

The council also wants to increase the capacity of the existing drainage system that runs along the riverside on Stamp End.

Jonathan Wickham, Senior Project Leader at Lincolnshire County Council, said: “The project will reduce the risk of flooding in the Stamp End area of Lincoln, providing greater protection for hundreds of local people.

“We’re working with the Environment Agency, Anglian Water and Witham 3rd Internal Drainage Board to deliver a scheme that will prevent river water from overwhelming the system and carry rain water away from the area quickly and efficiently.”

The scheme will be funded by the Environment Agency and Lincolnshire County Council, and delivered with Anglian Water and the 3rd Witham Internal Drainage Board.

The Environment Agency (EA) have a provisional allocation of £300,000 for the project.

With extra funding granted, the Council Council now has to submit a business case to the EA in the near future. Once this is approved, a project plan and a detailed scheme design will be put together.

This would represent the biggest flood risk project carried out by the County Council in its role as Lead Local Flood Authority since 2007.

The target date to start the scheme is January 5, 2015, and it would take around four months to complete.

Most of the work will take place on the river bank, with minimal disruption to traffic.