21/06/2005 - The Environment
Agency will carry out a series of small-scale
flood defence improvements across Cumbria
this summer, before construction begins next
year on the flood defence scheme for Carlisle.
"We'll be doing some work to improve
the resilience of the existing defences this
summer and autumn," said the Environment
Agency's Flood Risk Manager for Cumbria, Glyn
Vaughan. "In Carlisle, this will include
improving the protection offered by the River
Eden embankments on the eastern side of Carlisle
and extending the flood banks on the River
Petteril at Melbourne Park.
"The full flood defence scheme for the
city will start in 2006 with the Warwick Road
area – as we already had planned, even before
the floods in January. However, we want to
take the opportunity to make these small-scale,
localised improvements in the weeks ahead,
so that we can reduce the risk to people in
those areas as quickly as we can.
"Of course, we'll continue to operate
and maintain the existing flood defences.
Although they were overtopped by flood water
in January, they suffered almost no actual
damage."
The Environment Agency will be carrying out
similar work in Keswick, Appleby, Penrith
and Kendal. In Carlisle, the Agency has also
temporarily revised some of the 'trigger levels'
at which flood warnings are issued – meaning
that the levels that rivers must reach to
trigger a flood warning have been lowered.
The lower trigger levels will remain in place
until building work on the scheme has finished.
Notes
Construction on the planned flood defence
scheme for Carlisle will begin in May 2006
in the Warwick Road area of the city. Willowholme,
Caldewgate, Shaddongate and Carlisle city
centre will be covered by the second phase
of the scheme, which has been brought forward
by one year to start in 2008 and finish by
2010.
