MORE than £250,000 is to be spent on reducing flood risks in Blackburn and Darwen following a grant from the Environment Agency.

Five schemes in the borough have been approved in the wake of the devastation caused by the 2015/2016 festive season deluges.

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The successful schemes submitted by the Blackburn with Darwen council to the agency are:

  • £50,000 for the Waterloo Culvert diversion scheme on Livesey Branch Road, Blackburn;
  • £68,000 for improvements to drainage to minimise the continued flooding to 18 properties in Bala Close, Shear Brow, which include landscaping and new drains:
  • £38,500 for a study to find the best scheme to reduce problems at Granville Road, Westland Avenue and Manor Road in Sunnyhurst, Darwen, where the culvert is under capacity and blocked resulting in the regular flooding of 23 properties;
  • £40,600 for an investigation to determine the preferred scheme to reduce ongoing flooding of six properties in Birch Hall Avenue, Earcroft from an inadequate culvert; and
  • £73,500 to develop a Blackburn with Darwen ‘Integrated Surface Water Catchment Model’ combining river and sewer flooding to have a clearer understanding of the combined risk across the whole borough.

An Environment Agency spokeswoman said: “It’s our priority to do everything we can to protect people from flooding.

“We can never entirely remove the risk of flooding so it is essential that local households and businesses understand their risk, sign up for flood warnings and prepare a plan so they know what to do if flooding occurs.”

Sunnyhurst Ward councillor Dave Smith said: ‘’Flooding has been a problem on Granville Road, Westland Avenue and parts of Manor Road for many years now so it’s really good news that the council has obtained funding from the Environment Agency to hopefully resolve the situation. Ward councillors and residents have been pressing for this for some time now, so we are really pleased.’’

John Pearson, Conservative councillor for Livesey with Pleasington, said: “The culvert work on Livesey Branch Road is very welcome to tackle persistent flooding problems which will get worse with proposed housing development off Gib Lane.”

Phil Riley, borough regeneration boss said: “This money tackles a longstanding problem we have been eager to address.”

“Flooding and the misery it can cause is a major concern for some residents especially at this time of year.”