Threatened flooding project will go ahead
0 Comments | Leicester Mercury, Jul 28, 2010 | by DAVID MACLEAN
A major Pounds 330,000 study to help avert flooding disasters in the city will go ahead, it has been confirmed.
Leicester is the second most at-risk place outside London for flooding, with more than 7,000 homes across the city under threat.
A flood relief plan created in the 1970s meant areas in Knighton Park, Dakyn Road, Thurnby Lodge and Braunstone Park have been kept open to soak up excess rainwater.
However, the city’s expansion means the defence system needs to be improved, otherwise the city will be at risk of serious flooding.
The project was thrown into doubt last month, with the city council’s ruling cabinet halting it ahead of the coalition Government’s emergency budget.
But it has emerged that the funding, from the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) is still on the table, meaning the project can go ahead.
Hotspots include areas around the River Soar and the Grand Union Canal, as well as homes near brooks which run through Stoneygate, Evington and Knighton.
A city council spokesperson said: “The project is still going ahead. It has now received approval to continue, following a short review period. Officers are continuing to work on the project and are in the process of commissioning the study.
“We have also secured Pounds 80,000 of New Growth Point funding for detailed studies in potential development areas to ensure that the flood risk is established and accounted for when considering regeneration and housing development areas.
“The purpose of the study is to get a more detailed understanding of the surface water flood risk in Leicester, to identify those areas and properties in the city most at risk and to prepare long- term plans to help mitigate the risks.
“This study will develop more detailed flood risk mapping, making allowances for urban drainage systems and land use.
“It will provide us with a comprehensive picture of the flood risks and help inform emergency management planning, flood risk management measures and planning policy. “The city council is working closely with key partners on this project, including the Environment Agency, neighbouring local authorities and Severn Trent Water.”
Figures from Defra show that Leicester is among the 77 local authorities which are most at risk of flooding.
The plan will focus on hotspots across the city, and on how to protect vulnerable sites, such as power stations and hospitals.
Building in flood risk areas could be curbed, and people could be stopped from paving over their front gardens because it affects water run-off
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