The Environment Agency continues its work on the Leigh expansion and Hildenborough embankments scheme with the design and appraisal work being carried out at the moment, reports the EA.
According to the release, meetings have taken place with local landowners and professional partners to discuss and develop the scheme designs, and over the spring and early summer the project team will be carrying out ground investigations across the Leigh FSA.
This work ensures that the design for raising the embankment is appropriate for the underlying ground conditions. In November 2018, public events will be held in Hildenborough and Tonbridge to tell local communities more about the scheme. Dates and venues will be confirmed in early autumn, the Environment Agency said.
The scheme – being delivered by the EA in partnership with Kent County Council, Tonbridge and Malling Borough Council and the South East Local Enterprise Partnership – is aimed to reduce the risk of flooding from non-tidal rivers and surface water in the Medway catchment.
The £15.7 million project will increase the storage capacity of the existing Leigh FSA to reduce flood risk to approximately 1,430 properties, and also construct an embankment in Hildenborough.
The Environment Agency will be seeking planning approvals in 2019 with construction due to start in 2020 and works complete in 2023.