Yarm flood defences to be reviewed

Flood gates in Yarm which reduce the risk of flooding from the River Tees could be renewed as part of a significant review of defences in the town.

The Environment Agency maintains 1.3km of flood wall in the town, which protects over 500 homes and businesses and is intersected with a series of flood gates that allow access to public areas as well as to some individual properties.

It is currently reviewing all the flood defences in the town to ensure they continue to offer the best possible protection for the whole community.

Best possible protection

Simon Wilson, Environment Agency Senior Advisor in the Flood and Coastal Risk Management team in the North East, said:

The Environment Agency is carrying out a review of Yarm’s flood defences to ensure local people continue to have the best possible protection from the River Tees.

We have recently made repairs to some of the flood gates and they continue to function and protect the town, but their condition is deteriorating and we are taking steps now to stop this becoming a problem in the future.

Those that serve public areas such as footpaths and car parks will be replaced, and we are contacting residents with flood gates on their properties this week to consider whether they should be replaced or removed in favour of a more robust and continuous flood wall.

We want to find out more about how the gates impact access and how they are operated, with our priority being the safety of all residents in Yarm.

The Environment Agency is carrying out this project within the current government coronavirus guidelines to ensure the safety of staff and residents.