The multi-million pound Lustrum Beck Flood Alleviation Scheme has been officially opened.

The Environment Agency and Stockton-on-Tees Borough Council have worked together on the £3million award-winning scheme, which included replacing Londonderry Bridge and building new flood walls along the beck.

The scheme reduces the risk of flooding to over 150 homes in the town.

An official opening event on 26 July marked the completion of the first phase of the project, while residents were invited to a community drop-in event and walking tour of the defences to find out how they are better protected from flooding.

The lifting screen at Primrose Hill

New flood defences

Stockton-on-Tees Borough Council replaced Londonderry Bridge, on Durham Road, as part of the project. This was completed in December 2016.

The Environment Agency has built new flood walls along the beck at Bedford Street and Duddon Walk, which tie in with a raised embankment at Newtown. Work to tie in the new defences with the new bridge was completed earlier this year.

The Environment Agency also installed a new lifting screen at the culvert at Primrose Hill and had previously built a new flood wall along Bishopton Road.

Environment Agency Area Director Oliver Harmar said:

This is a fantastic project with some unique features which has increased flood protection to over 150 properties.

We’ve worked closely with Stockton-on-Tees Borough Council throughout which has enabled us to provide Stockton with an excellent scheme with a high level of protection.

And we’re not finished yet. The next phase involves looking at storing flood water further upstream at Coatham Woods, as well as creating new habitat.

This makes Lustrum Beck a great project which will see us combine traditional engineering solutions with natural flood management.

The new Londonderry Bridge

Natural flood management

The Environment Agency is looking at options to store flood water further upstream of Stockton at Coatham Woods, and is working with Newcastle University and the Forestry Commission to explore designs.

And it’s also exploring opportunities to create up to 30 hectares of water dependent habitat, including improved habitat at Sixfields.

Construction of these features is expected to start later this year and will take approximately three years.

Councillor Mike Smith, the Council’s Cabinet Member for Environment and Transport, added:

The replacement of Londonderry Bridge was an essential part of the broader scheme to help reduce the flood risk to homes.

“The old bridge was a major contributor to serious flooding because its arches obstructed the beck’s flow. Replacing it with a new, single span bridge has reduced the risk of the kind of devastating flooding we’ve seen in recent years.

We’d like to thank local people for their patience and understanding throughout this project, and it’s good to give them this opportunity to find out how the new flood protection measures all work.

The Lustrum Beck flood scheme has won a number of awards, including the Sustainability award at Constructing Excellence North East 2017, it scooped the top award for Partnership Project of the Year at the Flood and Coast Project Excellence Awards, and was highly commended at the Robert Stephenson Awards run by the Institution of Civil Engineers.

It’s important residents understand their flood risk and know what to do during a flood. Find out more about how to prepare for flooding

The Environment Agency has released 12,000 young grayling to give fish stocks a boost in north east rivers.

The fish were released this week into the rivers Deerness, Browney, Blyth and Skerne as well as Langley Beck at Staindrop and Aldbrough Beck near Darlington.

It’s part of the Environment Agency’s ongoing plans to develop and restore rivers in the region, targeting those which have been affected by pollution or where barriers affect fish passage.

The fish were reared at the Environment Agency’s fish farm near Calverton, Nottinghamshire, using funding from rod licence sales.

Help the process of natural recovery

Fisheries Officer Paul Frear was out releasing some of the grayling in the south of the region on Tuesday (1 August). He said:

We’re pleased we can provide these fish for restocking as part of our commitment to rod licence paying anglers and to help the process of natural recovery in waters which have been impacted by pollution or suffered poor water quality.

While it’s a really important aspect of our work, it’s one of many things we do together with our partners to develop fisheries, including reducing the effects of pollution, improving habitat and removing barriers to fish migration.

Grayling released into Langley Beck

Improved water quality

The Environment Agency releases fish into our waterways regularly. Fisheries officers target fish stocking activity in response to impacts on local rivers and using data from national fish surveys to identify where there are problems with poor breeding and survival.

Many of our industrialised rivers have improved dramatically in water quality in the last 30 years and targeted and appropriate restocking has helped the restoration of natural fish stocks and viable fisheries.

Angling is a great way for everyone to keep healthy and enjoy the natural environment. All rod licence income is used to fund work to protect and improve fish stocks and fisheries.