A new £9.5m flood alleviation scheme is to be built in South Cave.
East Riding of Yorkshire Council has announced the project after securing funding from the Government to construct a new flood storage area upstream of the village, designed to help reduce the risk of flooding during heavy rainfall.
Work on the project could begin in 2028, subject to the council securing planning permission and obtaining the necessary permissions and consents.
South Cave has suffered from multiple flood events in the past, most notably in 2007 and 2014 when a significant number of properties were flooded in the village.
Climate change predictions suggest that flood events, such as the ones experienced previously in South Cave, are likely to happen more often and with greater intensity in the future.
The new scheme aims to mitigate and reduce the risk of flooding caused by future severe rainfall events.
The council proposes the construction of an engineered embankment on South Cave Beck designed to intercept and temporarily store excess flows from upstream.
Its engineers have already carried out a comprehensive technical study in order to secure the funding, which included detailed flood risk modelling.
The flood alleviation scheme has been awarded £7.4m of Flood Defence Grant in Aid funding from Defra, administered by the Environment Agency.
This is in addition to a £790,000 Local Levy contribution from the Yorkshire Regional Flood and Coastal Committee and a funding contribution from the council.
For the next stage of the project, the council will engage with key project partners, stakeholders and the local community as part of the development and the detailed design of the scheme.
The council will also work with residents and businesses in the area to show what measures they can take to reduce their own flood risk.
Councillor Paul West, the council’s cabinet member for environment and transport, said: “I’m extremely pleased we’ve been able to secure funding for this vital scheme designed to help shield the residents and businesses in South Cave from the devastation of flooding.
“This project will join the other multi-million-pound flood alleviation schemes we have already built across the East Riding which have proved essential in reducing the risk of flooding to communities when it rains heavily.
“The continued investment by the local authority and partner agencies will help to mitigate future demands on the network as a result of environmental change.”
Dean Hamblin, flood and coastal risk management senior advisor at the Environment Agency said: “Over recent years, Yorkshire and the Humber has seen more investment than anywhere else in the country when it comes to reducing flood risk, and it’s great to see even more being secured here for the East Riding.
“The approval of this scheme gives further evidence of how we can deliver real benefits to local communities when working in partnership to reduce flood risk.
“While we expect more extreme weather with the impacts of climate change, the scheme will reduce the likelihood of flooding and limit the wider impacts and disruption it brings in future.”
Amer Bhatti, the Yorkshire Regional Flood and Coastal Committee secretary, said: “The committee is very pleased to support this important scheme, which will better protect 166 residential and 20 non-residential properties from future flooding in South Cave.
“Through the deployment of the proposed interventions, it is intended to help reduce the flood risks that affect this area.”
