Flood Work Begins

Motorists are being advised that the Corporation Street car park, situated next to the Chantry Bridge over the River Don, will be closed for 20 weeks to allow the £750,000 Chantry Bridge Flood Alleviation Scheme to be carried out.

The scheme, which is being carried out by Rotherham Borough Council in partnership with the Environment Agency, will result in the installation of a pumping station and the construction of a new wall along the riverside walk.

The pumping station will be sited underneath the Corporation Street car park and will operate in times of raised water levels by discharging surface water directly into the adjacent river - reducing the flood risk to central Rotherham and protecting about 40 commercial and business premises. These cover an area of 105,693 sq ft and are valued at almost £30 million. The nearby bus station will also be protected from river flooding as will the Chapel on the Bridge - a Scheduled Ancient Monument - and one of only five remaining bridge chapels in the country.

The flooding in June, 2007, resulted in considerable damage to property and contents in the Corporation Street, Bridgegate and Frederick Street area. The depth of water reached 500 mm above road levels and as well as businesses it also put the Rotherham Transport Interchange out of action. The Interchange sees 10.2 million passenger movements each year and 2,000 bus vehicle movements per day.

Coun. Gerald Smith, Rotherham Borough Council's Cabinet Member for Town Centres, Economic Growth and Prosperity, said the works were vital for both the protection of a large commercial area of the town and the on-going regeneration of the town centre.

He added: "Local businesses and companies will tell you how bad the flooding was and these works will prevent that happening again. The flooding in 2007 was disastrous for these businesses being caused by flooding from both the river and the sewers as well as surface water. This scheme will prevent the river flooding over into this area protecting both businesses and local jobs as well as making it a more inviting area for future investment.

"Obviously, the 20  places in the car park will be unavailable while the work is on-going but the car park will be re-instated prior to Christmas and I hope motorists will understand the need for the disruption."

The scheme will see the existing decorative railings on the right bank - the Town Centre side - being taken down and being replaced with a new structural concrete wall

The new wall will be constructed to achieve the 1 in 100 year flood defence level. The wall will have brickwork cladding to both faces and will be topped with stone copings in keeping with the location. It will still be possible to view the river over the wall from the Riverside Walk.

A further stretch of wall will be built from Chantry Bridge northwards along the river edge adjacent to the bus station. This wall will incorporate flood gates to allow access to the river adjacent to the Chantry Bridge.

In addition a pumping station will be installed to prevent surface water flooding. This will only operate in extreme flood situations and will discharge surface water directly into the river on a gravity basis at all other times.

Additionally the two public sewer outfalls that flow into the River Don adjacent to the bus station will receive heavy duty flap valves, which will prevent water backing up the pipework in a flood situation.

New lighting will be installed along the riverside walk between Chantry Bridge and the TESCO footbridge. This will enhance the area and improve public safety.

Negotiations are currently ongoing with the Environment Agency and other partner organisations regarding Phase 2 of the scheme. This will involve the design and installation of a new highway sewer system around Corporation Street, Bridgegate and Frederick Street. The system will be designed to relieve pressure on the existing public sewer network and discharge surface water directly into the new pumping station on Corporation Street.