Fish protected in £16m flood defence scheme
Jan 23 2010 by Tony Henderson, The Journal
Creature comforts have not been overlooked in a multi-million-pound flood scheme, Environment Editor Tony Henderson reports.
Meanwhile, a levy on councils to pay for flood protection schemes in the North East has been upped by 3%.
The local levy for 2010-11 has been approved by the Environment Agency’s Northumbria regional flood defence committee, which oversees the programme.
The local levy is used to finance flood-risk projects that would not otherwise be eligible for national funding.
It will mean an extra £55,513 for projects, with the total budget rising to £1,905,956.
The 2009-10 programme of local levy schemes covers 52 projects.
Levy schemes include:
:: Restoring the natural flood plain of the River Till in Northumberland with the removal of floodbanks and the creation of 20 ponds and 140 hectares of wetland.
:: The Living Waterways project in which communities have worked to clear obstructive rubbish and improve habitats on streams.
:: The Northumberland 4shores scheme, which involves stretches of flood bank near Alnmouth being cleared to allow tidal water on to farmland.
:: The North Pennines Peatscapes venture has seen another 115km of moorland drainage channels blocked this winter to restore water-holding bogland.
The levy also funds work on climate change in 100 schools.
A new proposal is for upstream storage of water in the Wolsington area in a bid to prevent flooding from the Ouseburn in Newcastle.
Another new scheme is also being launched to provide grants of up to £5,000 to help businesses with the costs of flood protection works.
The scheme is being run through Business Enterprise North East.
“The approval of the increase is very positive at a time when councils are under financial pressure and shows that councils are very much behind the levy,” said levy programme manager Peter Kerr.
The majority of committee members are local authority councillors.
The new levy will be Durham County Council £366,433, Darlington £82,053, Northumberland County Council £258,338, Gateshead £140,711, Newcastle £183,032, North Tyneside £150,679, South Tyneside £105,087, Sunderland £190,846, Hartlepool £65,821.
Frank Major, committee chairman, said: “I am delighted the committee has voted in favour of an increase in the local levy. This is recognition of the importance of the excellent work delivered by this funding.”
:: Wydon Water, a former reservoir above Hexham which has been converted to act as a water storage facility during flood conditions, has now been stocked with roach, crucian carp and tench for use as a recreational fishery.
A formal opening is planned for April 24.
