Copley
Flooding at Copley occurs due to overtopping of the embankment on the left bank of the River Calder. Water also seeps through the railway embankment from the cricket field (this is an informal flood storage area) and some flooding can occur from the canal overtopping. Copley Village has a history of flooding, with the most severe incidents occurring on Boxing Day 2015, June 2012 and January 2008. During the flooding in 2015, Copley Bridge, which connects the main village with St. Stephen's Church, was severely damaged and had to be demolished and rebuilt.
As part of the Environment Agency’s winter readiness programme, our contractors, ESH, have now completed works on the temporary flood defences at the North West end of St. Stephens Street. The section of wall is now at the same level of flood protection provided by the embankment. This will better protect the residents of St. Stephens Street and Railway Terrace.
Over the coming months, further work will be undertaken to produce and have assured a business case to progress the wider scheme to construction. The project team are currently exploring options to reduce seepage through the railway embankment, improve the river embankment, and provide flood risk improvements associated with the canal. This work will be mainly a desktop exercise, as most of the modelling and ground investigation is complete. However, works that will be visible on site this year will include monitoring vegetation clearance.
Sowerby Bridge
Flooding in Sowerby Bridge occurs from the River Calder and the River Ryburn – the meeting of which is in the centre of the town. 2012, 2015 and 2020 all saw very similar flood incidents.
The Ryburn (and its tributaries) starts high in the Pennine peatlands, which are drained to fill five large reservoirs. As the river flows further downstream, the Ryburn is heavily restricted by steep hillsides on both banks before entering the town of Sowerby Bridge, where built up mill complexes and restrictive channels and bridges cause bottlenecking and overtopping.
The impact of flooding affects many businesses and some residential properties, as well as creating very restrictive access conditions, blocking the A58 and many minor roads in, around and through the town.
Throughout 2020 modelling and investigation work has been conducted by our consultant, Arup. This modelling has looked at catchment wide natural flood management measures to support any containment options.
The team are in the process of writing and preparing the strategic outline case. This defines the issues and justifies investment in a detailed appraisal. It also identifies viable options for flood risk reduction. The strategic outline case will outline the preferred option and provide an indicative economic case of the costs and benefits of implementing a scheme.