ENVIRONMENT AGENCY staff are continuing with work to construct new embankments and raise low spots in existing banks in Hedon and Burstwick, which were flooded in June 2007.
Work which began last July 2009 at Burstwick and Hedon had to stop over the winter months because the ground became too wet and muddy for earthmoving equipment. During this time the Environment Agency had emergency plans in place in case of a flood, with a large pump available had it been necessary to lower the level of Burstwick Drain.
When complete, the £3 million scheme will reduce the risk of flooding to more than 350 properties in Hedon, and more than 100 in Burstwick.
In Hedon, low spots in existing banks alongside Burstwick Drain have been raised, or sections of flood walls built, to provide a consistent level of protection.
Work at Hedon in particular has been complicated by the number of properties lining the banks of Burstwick Drain, where the only access has been through private gardens. We would like to thank residents for their patience while work has been underway, and with the extra traffic construction has generated. We have had to close some public footpaths for safety reasons while work is underway but hope to re-open these as soon as possible in the coming weeks.” Project manager Jamie Wolstencroft.
In Burstwick, two new 1.5-metre high embankments are being built – one between Hedon Salads and Stud Farm, and the second at the farm, to protect farm buildings and houses. The earth for the embankments has come mainly from the farm.
It beats me how the EA think this will solve the problem in Hedon. The actual incidence of the water coming over the bank top is minimal.
The real problem is that, when the Burstwick Drain is at a high level, the surface water in the town’s drainage system (ditches and underground pipes) has nowhere to go except to overflow into the streets and houses in the lowest lying areas.
Priority should be given to the installation of permanent pumps at the clough down at Saltend, so that when the tide is high and the clough gates closed, the water can be physically discharged out of the drain, over the top of the gates into the river.
Anything else is just fiddling around!