Driffield & Rural Councillors welcome ERYC schemes to avoid future flooding

The East Riding of Yorkshire Council is to invest almost a quarter of a million pounds in two drainage schemes to address specific flooding issues in Driffield.

In one of the schemes the proposed works will help to ensure that properties on the Chase and on Manorfield Road do not suffer from repeat flooding as a result of run off from the DriffieldSchool site. These works, costing 150,000 are funded through European Union Restoration Funds will provide for underground water storage on the school fields which will then enable heavy rainfall to be drained away at a controlled rate across neighbouring land.

In a second scheme, new gullies and drains are to be installed on a stretch of Wansford road replacing the existing soak away system, with a positive drainage system to an identified outfall.

Driffield & Rural ERYC Councillor Symon Fraser commented, The news that these schemes will now go ahead brings a great deal of relief to the residents of the Chase who were so badly affected by the floods of 2007. The ERYC officers have already done some works to mitigate for heavy rainfall and this scheme will help to ensure that the houses on the Chase are better protected in the future. The real feather in the cap is that the East Riding Council has been able to secure nearly 4million of European Money to address issues across the East Riding, thus ensuring that our local residents can benefit without the costs having to be picked up through council tax.

Fellow East Riding Councillor Barbara Hall remarked, The Wansford Road improvements costing 80,000 also funded from the European monies will help to alleviate a situation which frequently threatens residents. Water table rises and additional developments have made the problems greater in recent times. The new positive drainage scheme will be much better than the existing soak away system.

East Riding Councillor Felicity Temple added, I am delighted that these two areas of Driffield are going to see improvements which will give worried residents much greater security and confidence in times of heavy rainfall. Our role has been to continually support both residents and the Council Officers efforts to get this European money allocated to sort out these problems on Wansford Road and the Chase.