Littleborough flood relief scheme planned

Plans to try and stop a Littleborough housing estate flooding during heavy rain have been put forward by Rochdale Council.

Residents living around Calder Avenue and Springfield Avenue are often plagued by flooding during heavy downpours. Due to this, Rochdale Council has put plans forward to create a storage basin to contain the rain and stop it flowing into nearby homes and gardens.

Engineers want to create a temporary reservoir on rough grazing land between Melrose Avenue and Mount Avenue. This would then store the water until the flood subsides and would feed the water back into the drains but council bosses say this would not be a permanent fixture.

Mark Widdup, Director of Economy and Environment at Rochdale Borough Council, said: “The scheme, which is supported by the Environment Agency and Regional Flood and Coastal Committee, forms a part of the Council’s Flood Risk Management Strategy to reduce flood risk on Calder Brook and to properties along its route, especially in periods of heavy and persistent rainfall. It follows on from previous works carried out to better protect individual properties at Calder Avenue and Springfield Avenue.

“The scheme consists of two storage basins, one west of Springfield Avenue and a second smaller basin to the north east of Townhouse Road near to Hare Hill Park. These are not permanent ponds and will only hold water when there is a risk of flooding after which flood water is released in a safe, managed way back into the drainage system. Subject to planning consent and the agreement of the Environment Agency, work on the lower basin off Townhouse Road is expected to be completed by summer 2015 and the upper basin by summer 2016. Nearby residents have been consulted and provided with a description of the proposed works.”

Councillor Ann Stott, a councillor for Littleborough Lakeside said: “I am delighted at long last after years of misery for residents there are finally definite moves in hand to alleviate the flooding situation which arises, particularly in the Calder Avenue area.

“This is in conjunction with funding and assistance from the Environment Agency with the installation of flood storage basins to cope with the overflow from the Calder brook during rain periods. This will hopefully be a successful solution.”