Spodden Valley 'plan B' to help save further flooding?

Example of sustainable remediation can be seen with Brockholes, Lancashire Wildlife Trust's remediation of former gravel pits near to the M6 motorway in Preston

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For over 12 years, the Save Spodden Valley campaign (SSV) has been working to secure a safe future for the former Turner Brothers Asbestos (TBA) site,once the site of the world's largest asbestos textile factory.

Plans lodged in 2004 to build over 600 homes and a children's nursery were finally scrapped in 2010 after a determined community effort.

Following this, the SSV campaign undertook extensive research and community consultation for a safe "plan B".

Part of the former asbestos factory site is designated a Flood Risk by the Environment Agency.

TBA documents from the late 1950s show that extensive tree planting was undertaken by the company in order to deal with soil stabilisation and artesian water.

Water management was a significant ongoing activity whilst the factory complex was in operation. Former maintenance workers recall regularly dredging part of the river Spodden.

Speaking in 2005, a former TBA Health & Safety manager, the late Abdul Chowdry, described how TBA was refused a water extraction licence in the 1970s as mine workings beneath the site had been dumped with asbestos factory waste up until the early 1960s.

Local consultation has voiced overwhelming support for a 'community plan B' involving a careful demolition of the existing asbestos factory buildings and engineered capping of the site also that it could become a green amenity and extension to Healey Dell.

An example of such sustainable remediation can be seen with Brockholes, Lancashire Wildlife Trust's remediation of former gravel pits near to the M6 motorway in Preston.

The recent disastrous flooding around Rochdale Town Centre may have given a further impetus for a TBA 'community Plan B': the flooding of the College Bank area including Asda resulted in electricity power outages for over 48 hours. This area is where the rivers Spodden and Roch meet.

For whatever climatic reasons, Rochdale is experiencing more frequent heavy rainfall and 'flash flooding'. Water run off is becoming an increasing concern given recent development of areas surrounding our town's river valleys.

The natural river valley 'bowl' of the former TBA Spodden Valley site could provide part of flood reduction strategy as a "back wash" to retain significant amounts of flood water from the Spodden. This may be a 'win-win-win' solution for Rochdale - the elimination of a toxic eyesore, an extended green amenity with Healey Dell and a wetland catchment area that could both increase biodiversity and act reduce the risk catastrophic flooding.

Given the will, such an ambitious project could save future generations untold amounts, both in terms of financial loss and human misery. What better solution for a troubled site where many of its former workers and nearby residents have already paid such a bitter price?

This is the opportunity to put Rochdale on the map for positive reasons. A flagship community remediation of a world-renown toxic brownfield site. People before profit, and with a payoff in catastrophic flood risk reduction.

Is 2016 the year this could begin?