Essential work to reduce the risk of flooding to 91 homes and 17 businesses in Earby is now complete.

A £1 million culvert repair project started in the Lancashire town in July 2018 to make Victoria Clough structurally sound.

Culverts are structures which carry water underground. They were often built to allow development to take place around them such as roads, homes and businesses. Many people live and work near culverts and may not even know they are there.

A new 40m length of culvert has been installed using a technique known as pipe bursting beneath the disused railway embankment to replace the existing one which had partially collapsed. Environment Agency contractors JBA Bentley also lined a number of sections totalling 60m along the length of the culvert at locations under Victoria Road and the A56 Skipton Road.

A new and improved 2-tier trash screen has been installed at the inlet of the culvert, to help reduce the risk of it becoming blocked with debris and making it easier and safer to clear when water levels are high.

Paul Swales flood risk advisor at the Environment Agency said:

Earby has suffered devastating flooding over recent years, most notably the Boxing Day 2015 flood. We’re delighted that this project is now complete and will bring significant flood risk benefits to homes and businesses in Earby.

While we carried out this work, traffic management was in place for some time and delays were encountered, so we’d like to thank residents and businesses for their patience and understanding while we carried out this essential work to reduce flood risk.

Funding for the project came from £813k of Grant in Aid and £200k of Yorkshire Local Levy.

Since the floods of Boxing Day 2015, the Environment Agency has worked in partnership with Pendle Borough Council, Lancashire County Council, Yorkshire Water and Earby Town Council to develop schemes to reduce flood risk in Earby. The Environment Agency has kept local MP Andrew Stephenson informed about the scheme during construction and upon completion.

The Environment Agency continues to develop other options to reduce flood risk from all sources in and around Earby. Staff will continue to develop the leading options in more detail, which includes a flood storage area on Victoria Clough and installing a flood defence wall at Boot Street adjacent to the New Cut. Subject to funding and further investigation, construction on the Victoria Clough storage area and New Cut flood wall could start towards the end of 2020.

By signing up to the Environment Agency’s free Flood Warning service residents and businesses can receive flood alerts and flood warnings for Earby Beck and/or Earby New Cut directly to their phone and emails, 24/7.

To find out if you’re at risk and register for flood warnings visit: www.gov.uk/flood

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