Funding gap is putting preferred flood scheme option for Calderdale village at risk

Walsden, near Todmorden, has been seriously flooded several times in the past 15 years.

Factors mean solutions to help are complicated and cost is becoming a concerning factor, flood partners have been told.

These include different water courses and the presence of the Calder Valley rail line.

Paul Swales, Environment Agency senior advisor, said the preferred project may be at risk because initial costs were higher than funding which had been identified at this stage.

By preference, this would include a suite of measures including using recreation ground land at Scott Street for storage at times of flooding.

Main works would also include an additional culvert to take water away, which would run from Unity Street and under Rochdale Road to Hollins Mill.

“We know what we want to do in Walsden and we have a preferred option and have undertaken detailed, improved modelling work.

“The challenge is that there is a significant funding gap,” he told members of Calderdale Flood Recovery and Resilience Programme Board.

Board member Coun Joe Thompson (Lab, Town), asking questions on behalf of Todmorden councillor colleagues, asked if partners were looking to fill the funding gap.

If not, were there proposals to change the scope of the scheme slightly so it could be realised.

Mr Swales said some elements of the scheme had been finalised which should get the EA in a position where it was ready to go to the next planning stage, able to present an outline business case for the work.

There was some uncertainty in how the new Government was going to fund projects in the future.

Calderdale schemes always needed external funding but the EA and other partners, for example Network Rail and Calderdale Council, were always on the lookout for funding.

If there is funding there might be a need to change the scope of the Walsden project but with planning for the project under way, it would be “a real shame” to have to do that, said Mr Swales.

Walsden was not an easy project to resolve, taking in as it did different tributaries and impacts on road and rail, for example.

“It needs to be that suite of solutions.

“It’s difficult for me to say if it will go ahead or not – but we will try,” he said.