£6m flood alleviation scheme approved

More than 140 homes and businesses in Catcliffe, Rotherham, were flooded during Storm Babet in October 2023

A £6m scheme to alleviate flooding is to go ahead in part of Rotherham, where 140 homes were flooded during Storm Babet two years ago.

The project, which involves replacing a bridge over the River Rother in Catcliffe, has been approved by Rotherham Metropolitan Borough Council.

During the cabinet meeting giving the go-ahead to the plans, Councillor Lynda Marshall, cabinet member for street scene and green spaces, described the scheme as a "critical initiative".

The council hopes the scheme could be completed within three years, but said it could take up to five.

Homes in Catcliffe and Treeton were flooded in 2023, forcing emergency evacuations, and the villages have endured major floods three times since 2000.

Chris Lloyd, 57, who lives on Sheffield Lane in Catcliffe, said he and his partner had to move out of their home for six months following the flood in 2023.

He said the rainfall over the last week had once again sparked warnings to prepare for flooding.

"We were told to get ready and moved everything upstairs. I do know it was very very close this Friday, and it's proper upset me," he said.

"It's a sharp reminder that it will happen and you've got to go through all that again."

Chris Lloyd was one of hundreds of people in Catcliffe who had to leave their homes during the flooding in 2023

The £6m project would replace a bridge at Treeton Lane with a more modern one, which engineers said would allow water to pass more freely underneath, lowering upstream flood levels.

The work still needs approval from the Environment Agency, but according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service it has widespread community support.

However, Mr Lloyd said he doubted a repeat of the flooding could be ruled out without further work to reduce water levels beyond Treeton bridge

"I welcome anything that's going to help and improve the situation," he said.

"But if the bridge is the bottleneck, why was the water the same height at the other side of the bridge, suggesting there's no room for any other water [even] once the bridge is changed."

Marshall said the flood alleviation scheme demonstrated the council's commitment to protecting communities.

Construction was expected to begin after detailed design work and regulatory permissions were secured, councillors were told.

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