Lincolnshire County Council flood works make progress to protect over 50 Long Bennington homes

Work is progressing on a flooding alleviation scheme to protect over 50 homes in a village.

The scheme, being conducted in Long Bennington, will aim to reduce the risk of flooding by improving the pipework capacity, creating a new outfall into the River Witham and installing new gullies and manholes to help manage the drainage.

An investment of £1.34 million is being put into the project and should be finished by the end of September 2023.

Councillor Alexander Maughan, county councillor for Long Bennington in the Hough Division, said: “The flood alleviation works demonstrate Lincolnshire County Council's commitment to protect homes and businesses in Long Bennington with £1.34m of investment in new drainage infrastructure.

“This will deliver village-wide benefits and reduce the risk of future flash flooding in our village.

“I am delighted to see works commencing on the ground after many years of hard work bringing this scheme to fruition."

The project comes after 23 homes and two businesses in the village were flooded after heavy rainfall in 2015, as well as another seven homes that have experienced flooding since 2015.

Councillor Colin Davie, executive member for environment at Lincolnshire County Council, said: “Many residents in Long Bennington will still remember the devastating impacts flooding has had in their community, and so I’m pleased to see work progressing well to better protect their homes and businesses.

“By carrying out much of the work under temporary traffic lights rather than full road closures, we’re also hoping to keep the disruption of building works to a minimum.

“Flood alleviation in one of the council’s key priorities, and I’m proud to say that we as a council are leading the way, working with our partners, and investing in projects just like this one that protect our residents and communities.”

Funding for the project has come from LCC who granted £441,000, £248,000 from Anglian Water, and £654,000 from the Environment Agency’s Flood and Coastal Erosion Risk Management Grant in Aid Funding.

Roads in the village will remain open for much of the works, with only two road closures due to take place in August and September.

In mid-August Vicarage Lane will be closed for up to ten days, followed by Welbourne’s Lane, which will be closed for a week.

Details of these road closures will be advertised on site in advance.