Major Calderdale village flood alleviation scheme set to be completed

Members of Calderdale Flood Recovery and Resilience Programme Board heard the Mytholmroyd scheme is very close to being finished.

Paul Swales, a senior flood risk advisor for the Environment Agency, said the programme continued apace with many elements of the project completed.

“If the weather is kind to us, hopefully it will be water tight and up to flood defence level towards the end of November or the beginning of December,” he said.

It was also hoped a new pot of funding could be accessed to better protect Burnley Road Academy in Mytholmroyd, which was potentially a flagship project, with discussions with the Department of Education ongoing.

Mr Swales said a successful bid for West Yorkshire Combined Authority funding for Mytholmroyd would allow some booster money – around £2 million – to be moved to other flood alleviation schemes including Brighouse.

Work on the Hebden Bridge flood alleviation scheme would be ongoing up to Christmas, including culvert surveys and ground investigations.

Funding was in place to fully deliver parts of the scheme including Stubbing Holme Road and Erringden hillside, he said.

WYCA had put an agreement in place for an additional £1.9 million towards the Hebden Bridge scheme, which has also recently received £12 million of funding from the Government, said Mr Swales.

Calderdale Council’s Flood Programme Manager Neil Fearnley said the board’a agreement was being sought to submit a bid for Innovative Flood Resilience Programme funding which could bring around £6 million to the area.

The funding emphasised community resilience and he also said Yorkshire had been chosen as a Pathways area.

Holly Lynch, MP for Halifax, said she was frustrated a Government-promised Yorkshire summit on flooding recently had been limited to South Yorkshire.

Environment Agency area flood risk manager Adrian Gill said there would be things arising from the South Yorkshire summit that could play into future conversations about other parts of the county.

In terms of funding, Leader of Calderdale Council and Board Chair Coun Tim Swift (Lab, Town) said: “The challenge for us is not just the capital schemes, it is the sheer ongoing costs of being an authority that has to have resources to respond to an event at any time.”

The board heard 520 grants to businesses which had flooded in February, totalling almost £1.25 million, had been given out with householder grants yet to be administered.

Communities should be briefed on preparedness for possible events as winter approached, they also heard.