Flood defence work costing £65m set to begin

The Environment Agency said current flood defences in Tamworth weren't high enough

Flood defence work costing £65.5m is set to begin later this year in Staffordshire.

It will include drilling boreholes at 86 locations across Tamworth to discover what materials are in the ground and the types of flood defences needed.

The project is expected to start in November or December and will last six months to implement a mix of new defences and improve current flood walls.

Will Groves from the Environment Agency said that the current defences were not high enough and needed to be raised. Footpaths on top of flood defences will be closed during the work and traffic management on Lichfield Road will be in place.

The project is only 90% funded with the remaining amount expected to come from developers, landowners and additional government grants.

Some residents living on or near Willow Bank, Station Fields, Moor Lane, Sunset Close and Oxbridge Way could be impacted by noise. Where people will be affected they will be contacted at least two weeks in advance.

This news was gathered by the Local Democracy Reporting Service which covers councils and other public service organisations.