Council Wins Extra £29,000 to Tackle Flooding

A scheme to tackle surface water flooding in Littleport has been given the final go-ahead thanks to an additional bid by East Cambridgeshire District Council for extra funds.

Last March, the Council was one of 49 local authorities to be awarded funding by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) to tackle flooding caused when the ground, rivers and drains cannot absorb heavy rain.

The money was to tackle flooding to local properties along Victoria Street, Willow Court, The Holmes, Station Road, The Hythe and Silt Road in Littleport which had been blighted by flooding to gardens and properties due to excess water being discharged throughout the system.

However, due to necessary changes to the scheme - the cost for the work escalated by nearly £30,000 and it was feared that this might stop the work. But after discussions with Defra and an additional bid by Council officers - the necessary funds have been secured.

The new funding means work can begin to mitigate the flood risk arising from surface water to homes and safeguard the ongoing maintenance of the drainage in the five areas.

The works will now be completed by the end of March 2011.

Councillor Tony Parramint, Chairman of Environment and Transport Committee at East Cambridgeshire District Council, said: "When we received the initial grant of £100,000 to tackle flooding in five areas of Littleport it was great news. However it soon became apparent that we needed to make some changes to our initial plans to tackle the problem after seeking advice from the Environment Agency.

"We had feared the worst when the bill for the revised scheme came in but thanks to some hard work from officers we have managed to get the money we needed from the Government. The damage which flooding can do can have a massive impact on homes and people's lives but thanks to the extra money we can crack on with dealing with the problems in Littleport."