Experts ponder city flood defence

Engineers are working on plans to prevent flooding in Wakefield

Flood defence engineers are working out the best way to protect more than 700 properties in Wakefield's Westgate area after the floods in 2007.

Experts from the Environment Agency believe they can reduce the flow of water from the Denton Dam by 75% at times of severe flooding.

Planned work includes creating flood water storage areas, raising existing walls and creating new defences.

The engineers' report will be considered in October.

The villages of Wrenthorpe and Alverthorpe were also affected by the summer flooding and Environment Agency engineers are working on schemes to protect those sites.

Technical difficulties

Project manager Steve Goring said: "The revised scheme has larger reserves and is intended to cope with a one-in-a-100-year flood."

Once the engineers' report has been assessed construction work is expected to take about 18 months to complete.

Ings Beck is a tributary of the River Calder and flows through Alverthorpe and Wrenthorpe before discharging into the river Calder in central Wakefield.

Flood protection for properties near Ings Beck had been under consideration since 2000 - when some properties in the Westgate area were flooded - but technical difficulties had delayed the preparation of the scheme until April 2007.