Local residents and businesses in the Churchtown and Crossens areas of Southport will be asked what they think about ambitious plans to reduce flooding.
The project, called ‘Making Space for Water – Churchtown and Crossens, Southport’, aims to improve areas that might flood along ‘The Pool’ watercourse, Southport.
The area is sometimes flooded by water from the ‘The Pool’ watercourse and rainfall that collects on hard surfaces or runs quickly over it during heavy rain and storms.
Over the past 11 years Green Sefton says there have been three significant times when flooding has been particularly damaging:
- 2012: Significant surface water flooding at St. Johns Primary School playground and highway flooding along Rufford Road.
- 2015: Storm Eva caused severe flooding in Balmoral Drive, Verulam Road and Melrose Avenue.
- 2017: significant flooding at Preston New Road, Merlewood Avenue, Balmoral Drive, Glamis Drive, Norbury Close, Melrose Avenue and Verulam Road.
Sefton Council is now preparing to work alongside the Environment Agency and United Utilities to look at ways to help lower the number of times this flooding happens and the problems it causes for residents, businesses and visitors in the area.
They are proposing to carry out public engagement and consultation activity in the area to find out what people think before putting any plans in place.
In a report to councillors, Green Sefton Principal Flood and Coastal Erosion Risk Management Officer Michelle Barnes said:
“Residents in Churchtown and Crossens, Southport have suffered from frequent flooding from surface water during heavy rainfall events.
“The worst affected areas are properties close to Botanic Gardens, The Stray woodland, Preston New Road and Crossens recreation ground.
“Through these areas runs a watercourse called the Pool. This takes some of the surface water from the area out to Crossens pumping station and into the sea, the rest enters the combined sewer.
“During heavy rainfall the combined sewers cannot take all of the surface water and water cannot get into this Pool watercourse quick enough or is slow to move through the pipes in which it flows. This then results in flooding to roads, open space and people’s homes or businesses.
“Sefton Council has been working with the Environment Agency and United Utilities to look at ways to help lower the number of times this flooding happens and the problems it causes for residents, businesses and visitors in the area.
“As the options to help flooding in the area are complex, need to achieve multiple benefits and be feasible from a cost benefit perspective, the consultation will therefore be limited.
“It will mainly be seeking people’s views on the plans if the purpose is clear and if the benefits are realised.
“It will also seek their views on becoming involved in the care of the storage areas for nature and wildlife and improving the understanding and value of them. It will also seek to alleviate any concerns about the plans before, during and after construction.
“There will be a need to consult a wide variety of audiences about the plans. A stakeholder mapping exercise has been done to help identify these. These range from residents, users of the sites, businesses, existing community groups, schools, visitors, commuters, elected members, ward members, other organisations and internal council departments.
“There will also be changes to ground maintenance where storage ponds will be created.
“There will also be some highways work such as kerb storage needed and laying or relaying of pipes which will cause some disruption to road users and parking for residents.
“Whilst the work is ongoing there will be disruption with site compounds, construction noise and vehicles, closures of footpaths and limitations on the use of some open greenspaces.
“The consultation and engagement will commence late summer (August to early autumn, October) 2023 to ensure as wide an audience as possible is reached.
“The aim of the project is to reduce flood risk by providing space for water and creating opportunities for all life to thrive in the area.”
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