12:33pm Tuesday 27th July 2010
By Vicki Henderson
PLANS for new flood defences for a village that has been plagued by flooding for decades have been submitted to the district council.
Residents and businesses in the Low Green area of Catterick Village have been forced to sandbag their properties in recent years as floodwaters from the nearby stream threatened to spill out on to the road.
Long time residents say the problem has increased in the last three years, with floods that previously happened once in a decade now occurring every year.
The Environment Agency has submitted plans to Richmondshire District Council to erect flood defences along the worst affect parts of the stream.
The bank of the stream will be raised by about a foot and re-seeded so that it blends back into the surroundings, while stopping floodwater reaching the roads and nearby properties.
The agency also plans to clear the stream of vegetation in the hope that it will flow better during heavy rainfall.
Catterick district councillor Rob Johnson has welcomed the proposals, which he said will come as a relief to many residents.
“These new flood defences will hopefully mean that people will not have to worry about the water rising towards their houses or that they will need sand bags bringing in,” he said.
“We cannot control the weather but we can make a difference to where all the water goes.”
Coun Johnson is also hopeful that the defences will mean that properties within the area, which are classed as standing on a flood plain, will also receive some relief from insurance companies. Duncan Fyfe, a technical specialist at the Environment Agency, said the defences have been designed with the unique character of the area in mind.
“This is quite a small scheme but it should prevent some of the flooding that we have seen in recent years,” he said.
“We recognise the character of the village so we have been restrained by what we could do -– we don’t want to change the area completely.
“We have come up with a low profile, low cost solution but it will be enough to reduce the risk of flooding events.”
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