MORE than £2m is to be spent on reducing the risk of surface water flooding in a North Yorkshire village.

Northumbrian Water has announced a £2.3m programme of work to improve the sewer system in Great Ayton.

The utility company has launched a consultation with local residents to discuss improvements to the village sewer system after engineers pinpointed a risk of flooding in Roseberry Crescent.

They are developing proposals to install 1,300m of surface water and foul water sewers.

An outline of the proposals will be on display during an event with Northumbrian Water at The Royal Oak Hotel on the High Street on Wednesday, March 21, when people can give their views.

Ashley Ferguson, Northumbrian Water's Project Manager, said: "Looking after the environment and reducing the risk of flooding to homes and businesses are two of our top priorities.

"As part of this commitment, we would like to work closely with the Great Ayton community to not only manage and reduce flood risk in their area, but also to ensure that we reduce the impact of our work on residents as much as we can."

The work is scheduled to be carried out by Northumbrian Water's partner, ESH Construction from early May 2018 to March 2019 in Roseberry Crescent, Roseberry Road, Roseberry Avenue, Wheatlands and Newton Road, Great Ayton and also within part of the estate of Cleveland Lodge.

Northumbrian Water is looking at projects which had a wider environmental benefit, including the creation of rainwater ponds and wildlife habitat.

Ashley said: "We are looking at opportunities to separate surface water from the public sewer by using rainwater gardens, ponds or grassed detention basins or swales, which will have a wider social and environmental benefit, including the creation of valuable wildlife habitat.

"We really want to work with the local community on these sustainable drainage solutions, or ‘SuDs' as we call them, and we are keen to hear about any flooding issues that people may have witnessed or experienced in the areas we are targeting."

People can find out more detail about the scheme at the event at The Royal Oak Hotel on March 21, which will take place between 3pm and 7pm.

More information about this project and regular updates as work progress can be viewed on the company's community portal at; nwlcommunityportal.co.uk and following the link to the Roseberry page.

Alternatively, customers can telephone the customer contact centre on 0345 717 1100 or tweet @nwater_care to speak to a member of the project team.