Council's windfall to tackle flood nightmare

Wigan Council has landed a massive £857,000 to mend borough flood damage.
Firefighters in Nicola Storeys back garden in St Elizabeths Road, Aspull, which flooded four times in four weeksFirefighters in Nicola Storeys back garden in St Elizabeths Road, Aspull, which flooded four times in four weeks
Firefighters in Nicola Storeys back garden in St Elizabeths Road, Aspull, which flooded four times in four weeks

The authority received the windfall from the Department of Transport to help with ongoing repairs required after the 2015 Boxing Day storm.

The successful bid was made in partnership with Bolton, Rochdale, Bury and Salford. ​Wigan has also received £80,448 from the Environment Agency’s Flood Defence Grant in Aid to reduce future flood risks.

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​The funding is in addition to the £750,000 the local authority secured last year from the government to carry out repairs and preventative work around the borough.

More than a month’s rainfall fell in 24 hours when storm Eva hit Wigan, leaving many properties, roads and greenspaces damaged.

​Works have already been carried out at numerous locations, including repairing the drain network in Lilford Park, Leigh, reducing flood risk in Crooke village, plus Yellow Brook and St Elizabeth’s Road in Aspull, and improving drains in Platt Bridge.

​The wall next to the River Douglas at Southgate which was heavily damaged during the floods is currently being repaired.

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​Mark Tilley, assistant director for infrastructure and regulatory services, said: “We’ve already carried out a lot of repairs following the Boxing Day floods and this money will give us an extra boost and allow us to carry out further repairs and flood mitigation works that should protect our communities in the future and reduce flood risk.

“It’s also really important that residents take steps to protect their own properties from flooding. If you know your property is in a flood risk zone we’d encourage you to sign up to the flood warning system and to also make sure you have insurance to cover any damage caused by flooding.”

An updated flood warning system went live on April 10 in England and Wales. Residents can sign up online to get flood warning messages and access to recorded flood information on Floodline.