Flooding defence plans go on display (From The Northern Echo)

Flooding defence plans go on display

3:10pm Tuesday 14th February 2012 in Stockton News

MORE details have emerged about £11m works to prevent flooding and reclaim land for an internationally important wildlife habit on Teesside.

The Environment Agency last week announced money was available to continue projects for wildlife protection in Greatham, near Hartlepool, and flood protection in the Redcar area.

More information is now available, and further information about a plan to prevent flooding around Lustrum Beck, in north Stockton, has also been put on display.

The £2.5m bird habitat reclamation work is due to start in the coming weeks and will be completed by October.

The problem is caused by rising sea levels and much of the habitat is legally protected as it is internationally important for birds.

The latest protection scheme is also part of a strategy to protect homes from flooding in the Tees Estuary.

Construction costing £8.5m on the Redcar flood scheme has been ongoing for several years and the total bill will eventually reach £25.5m.

The Environment Agency and Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council are working together to complete the installation of 2.7km of sea defences from Coatham to The Stray, in Redcar, by spring next year, protecting 1,000 properties.

Last week, plans for a smaller scheme to improve flood defences near Lustrum Beck were displayed to the public. The idea is to raise the height of flood walls and flood banks by 30cm. Work is due to start in the spring and end by early next year.

Sue Goodman, project manager at the Environment Agency, said: "We were able to reassure people about what the scheme will mean for them and we had useful feedback and information."

The Lustrum Beck scheme is funded through the Environment Agency's Northumbria Regional Flood and Coastal Committee's Local Levy.

For more details, call Sue Goodman on 0191-203-4083 or email sue. goodman@ environment-agency.gov.uk