Agency works to reduce flood risk in Ponteland

Work is about to start to reduce flood risk in Ponteland, Newcastle.

The Environment Agency is improving some of the town's flood defences for protection from the River Pont.

It said the town's lowest defences were at Waitrose car park, putting 46 properties at risk.

The agency will start work to increase the height of two flood walls in the town centre, raising the height of the flood bank in the park and boosting the height of the supermarket ramp.

Work on the flood walls and in the park will start on Monday and is expected to take about eight weeks to complete.

Work to raise the supermarket ramp will start early in the summer.

However a new computer modelling has shown that the existing defences in Ponteland provide a greater standard of protection than previously thought.

The agency said that once the work has been completed about 480 homes and businesses in Ponteland would be at reduced risk from a flood with a 1% (or 1 in 100) chance of it happening in any given year.

Previous flooding

Ben McCarthy, from the Environment Agency's flood risk mapping and data team, said: "The results of our study also highlighted the importance of maintaining the river channel.

"Thick vegetation in the river channel slows down the flow of flood water and can lead to higher water levels against the town centre flood defences."

The River Pont last flooded Ponteland in November 2000, when heavy rainfall caused extensive surface water flooding and the town's main flood defences were overtopped, in combination affecting 147 properties.

The town was flooded again in 2008 when surface water flooded 19 properties.

Source: BBC News

Community flood defence work nears completion

WORK is almost complete on a series of flood defence measures to give communities greater protection.
The Environment Agency has been working to restore the flood bank along the River Pont at Eland Lane since the floods of 2008.
This week work has started on the last section of the embankment, which has been eroded by walkers or moved naturally and has dropped by as much as 300mm.
The final section is expected to take two weeks to complete and will cost £10,000.
Once the banks have been repaired they will protect residents from a flood that has a two percent chance of happening in any year. A gate will be installed to prevent access to the flood bank, which is built on private land.
Further downstream, the agency has been re-building a flood defence wall and raising the lower sections at a cost of £5,000.
Project Manager Simon Eadington said: “Once this next part of the work is completed the risk of flooding in the town will be greatly reduced and hopefully ease residents’ concerns.
“Over the coming months we will continue to carry out our routine maintenance on the watercourse to make sure the river flows as well as possible.
“This is likely to include some tree maintenance where we will remove lower branches to reduce the risk of blockages.
“We’ll carry out the work each year so the channel is as clear as possible.”
Source: Morpeth Herald - Full Story

New £20,000 Pump to Reduce Ponteland Flood Risk

Residents from Ponteland are to receive a new £32,000 pump for the town which will be used to reduce the risk of flooding to homes and businesses during an emergency.

The pump has been bought by funding from the Local Levy, which is raised from local authorities across the region to tackle small-scale flood projects, and is managed by the Environment Agency,

The equipment will be kept at Ponteland Fire Station and is part of a £80,000 package of measures which the levy fund and the Environment Agency has put together for the town.

Levy project coordinator Bob Carrick said: "This is good news for Ponteland.

"We can never stop flooding altogether but we can help to reduce the likelihood of it happening.

"We have trained Ponteland's firefighters to use the pump and it is being stored at their station so that both they and the Environment Agency can use it during an emergency.

"These community schemes are important to the Local Levy team. Everyone has a role in helping to reduce the risk of flooding and we need to work together to get the maximum benefit for residents.

"Our projects are about helping people in the community to take steps to protect themselves against the increasing risk of flooding."

The pump has a six inch nozzle and can pump 25 metres3 of water per hour.

Other measures for Ponteland include raising the flood banks on Callerton Burn and the Fairney Burn after the banks were overtopped during the flooding in September 2008. Environment Agency staff will also carry out some channel maintenance on Callerton Burn.

Flood defence measures are also being improved at Athol House nursing home, Callerton Lane, which has 30 elderly residents, two of whom had to be helped to safety during last September's floods.

The work includes helping to protect the home against shallow floodwaters which can cause problems for residents who have difficulty walking.

The work had to take into account the appearance of the home's award-winning gardens, and the materials used were selected after discussion with the residents and the home owners.

As a result, timber railway sleepers have been laid along the 100-metre length of the hedge alongside the home, which is close to Callerton Burn.

The Local Levy is raised by the Environment Agency's Northumbria Regional Flood Defence Committee from local authorities in the North East and is used to fund projects.
Source: News Post Leader

Ponteland Floods September 2008

Video of the horrendous floods of September 2008 and the helicopter rescue in Ponteland Park can be seen at Ponteland Online