5-May-2006 - Two local
people affected by the Carlisle floods of January
2005 will be cutting the first sod at a ceremony
to launch the start of construction on the Environment
Agency’s £12 million River Eden and Petteril
flood defence scheme.
Mary Wilson, a Warwick Road
resident, and Belinda Artingstoll, a BBC Radio
Cumbria reporter who continued to report on the
floods despite being flooded herself, will officially
open the construction works on Tuesday May 16.
The launch event will open with
a welcome by the Environment Agency Area Manager
Kim Nicholson followed by a presentation by Area
Flood Risk Manager Glyn Vaughan and a presentation
by Councillor Ray Bloxham, Carlisle City Council
Portfolio Holder for Environment, Housing, Infrastructure
and Transport, before Mary and Belinda cut into
the first piece of ground of the construction
site.
The launch of the construction
works is the culmination of a year’s worth of
study into flood risk in Carlisle.
Flood defences currently exist
on the River Eden, but now need to be replaced
with defences of a higher standard, especially
given the expected effects of climate change.
The need for better protection was highlight in
January 2005 when heavy rain caused the River
Eden and Petteril to overtop their banks.
Before the flooding, the Environment
Agency already had plans to improve the standard
of protection but, after the flooding, the plans
were modified to ensure that the structures will
effectively reduce the risk of flooding in years
to come.
The revised scheme, which will
be completed in 2008, will reduce flood risk to
1,500 properties in the Warwick Road and Botcherby
area of Carlisle.
Glyn Vaughan said: "The
scheme will reconstruct and raise embankments,
making them wider and higher. New flood walls
will be built and we will construct drain-down
sluices so if water gets trapped behind the defences
it will drain away quickly.
"We will also be carrying
out environmental enhancements. At Melbourne Park
we will create a recreational area to attract
new wildlife while improvements to the Old Eden
will create a better habitat for fish and other
aquatic life."
Cllr Ray Bloxham added: "I
think the scheme is absolutely fantastic. It is
a massive investment in the flood defences in
this area and I congratulate the Environment Agency
for bringing this scheme forward, following the
floods of January 2005.
"I am sure it will give
the residents in the area a feeling of confidence.
But as well as protecting the area, which is vitally
important, the scheme involves enhancements to
the area’s environment and ecology, which is to
be applauded."
Wherever possible, the Environment
Agency will reuse and recycle the materials from
the existing flood defences. Any extra materials
will, when practical, be locally sourced.
The Eden Petteril scheme is
the first of two flood alleviation schemes in
Carlisle, the second being the Caldew and City
Centre scheme, which is planned to start in 2008
and is due to be completed a year ahead of schedule
in 2010.
