A NEW flood defence scheme to protect more than 164 homes and businesses in Stubbins will be unveiled next month.

The Environment Agency project, which took six months to build, got the go-ahead after securing £1.279 million from the Government’s Flood Defence Grant in Aid funding, with an additional £410,000 worth of local contributions.

MORE TOP STORIES:

The new defences will reduce the risk of flooding from the River Irwell and run by Pin Meadow, behind Robert Street, along a raised footpath and then behind the Cuba Industrial Estate.

A community event will take place on Thursday, November 13, to mark the completion of the flood defences, and people are being invited to come along to see the results.

The official opening kicks off at 10.30am at the Memorial Gardens, where a commemorative plaque will be unveiled to mark the completion of the scheme.

Guided walks of the new flood defences will then run from 11am to 11.30am, after which people will be invited to the Volker Stevins offices on Cuba Industrial Estate to view displays showing how the scheme has developed since the area was struck by flooding in 2012.

An Environment Agency spokesman said: “The community have been at the heart of the project, and the contractors have been recognised for their consideration of local people while construction took place.

“Our contractors VolkerStevin, together with partners Boskalis Westminster and Atkins, received a ‘performance beyond compliance certificate’ from the Considerate Constructors Scheme.

“They received this for their commitment to minimising disruption for local people and for going out of their way to be considerate. This included reinstating residents’ gardens and bringing one resident’s garden up to full ‘Disability Discrimination Act’ requirements.”

Council leader Alyson Barnes said: “Flood defence work is so important to our residents and businesses. We have prioritised this work since the flooding of 2012. We have been working closely with the county council, United Utilities and the Environment Agency.”