Flood gate replaced to reduce risk to communities

The gate at Canklow will undergo replacement work from April

Work will begin next month to replace a flood gate on the River Rother in South Yorkshire in a bid to reduce the risk of flooding for homes and businesses.

The work, which could take up to six months to complete, will see the Canklow Regulator between Catcliffe and Canklow replaced with a more resilient structure.

The Environment Agency warned there could be a "small temporary increase in flood risk to downstream communities" during the project.

Operations manager Kimberley MacPherson said "as many precautions as possible" would be taken to mitigate the risk.

Ms MacPherson said: "We know the devastating impact that flooding can have so the decision to proceed with these works has been carefully considered."

The Environment Agency also operates the Meadowgate and Woodhouse Mill regulators.

The regulators hold back and store water on the River Rother during flood events, reducing the risk to properties downstream on the River Don between Rotherham and Doncaster.

The agency said work had been scheduled for the drier months to minimise the risk of flooding, as both the Woodhouse Mill and Canklow regulators would not be operational while the gate at Canklow is replaced.

The Meadowgate Regulator, which was replaced in 2024, would help manage water flows while the Canklow flood storage area compartments would be opened to maximise available storage capacity.

Replacing the gate at Canklow aims to ensure that there will be two regulators in operation ahead of next winter.

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