Bridge work starts in bid to stop floods

An old bridge which impeded water flow through the beck at Romanby, Northallerton, has been removed and replaced with a temporary structure.

The abutments of the old bridge on Wooden Hill Lane used to slow down the flow of the beck when it was full, as did the low deck of the structure.

However, it has now been replaced with a temporary structure and construction work on a permanent replacement will begin later this year. Earth works have also been carried out to improve the water flow.

The work by North Yorkshire County Council is the first in a series of flood defence projects in the Northallerton area, following two incidents of serious flooding in recent years.

They include work in Romanby to straighten Willow Beck near Chantry Road while in neighbouring Brompton there are plans for retaining water on the beck upstream of the village.

An overflow channel at Water End Bridge is planned and beck clearance will also be carried out in the area.

The county's director of environmental services, Mike Moore, has a budget of around £750,000 for flood works this year. The work on the bridge, however, was achieved through the county's bridges budget.

But the county has also recently put in a preliminary application to Defra for further substantial funds - which could be several million pounds.

The main part of the flood works will be holding areas at the top of Sun and Turker Becks, where surplus waters can be held and then channelled away to a storage tank under Bullamoor Park.

Mr Moore said: "Further areas of highway flooding are being rectified using basic maintenance money.

"This is an on-going process with any new areas of flooding being included on the works programme to be completed when budgets allow."

The county council's executive member for environmental services, Peter Sowray, said: "Projects we are committed to and the ones we hope to develop demonstrate the resolve to alleviate flood problems wherever possible."