Morpeth set to receive national honour after floods

Sep 6 2010 by David Black, The Journal

Scheme's two-pronged approach

WORK on Morpeth's £16m flood alleviation scheme is scheduled to start in December next year and be completed in late 2013.

It is a top priority in the Environment Agency’s capital programme for the North East, but a final decision on funding will not be taken until next year.

Fears have been voiced recently that the project could be hit by the Government’s comprehensive spending review next month, which is likely to spell out major cuts in public spending.

Wansbeck MP Ian Lavery, who was recently briefed on the scheme by agency officials, claims there is a strong and robust case which will be difficult to turn down.

The project involves a combination of an upstream storage reservoir to hold back floodwaters when the river is in torrent, and new and improved flood walls in the town centre.