Morpeth Flood Scheme Completed

The Morpeth flood scheme, opening today, Monday 24th August, will protect residents by storing millions of gallons of flood water upstream – one of the largest projects of its kind built by the Environment Agency. 

The Morpeth flood scheme will benefit more than 1,000 homes and businesses in the town and is the largest flood protection project completed in the North East. The upstream reservoir on the town’s Mitford Estate works by storing up to 1.4 million cubic meters of water when river levels are high – enough to fill more than 560 Olympic-sized swimming pools. The scheme has also created 17 hectares of new habitat for local wildlife.

The project has been jointly delivered with Northumberland County Council, which provided £12 million in funding – one of the largest partnership contributions the Environment Agency has secured.

Construction work on the scheme began in 2013 and has included a new flood wall and embankment along the riverside, over 368m long, including three new flood gates. Repairs and improvements to existing defenses have also been carried out, with efforts to ensure that the look of the defenses fit with the history and character of the town.

[mappress mapid=”21024″]