Flood gates safety improvements approved by council

Improvements to flood defences are being made along the River Tees

Upgrades to flood defences along a river have been approved by a local authority.

The Environment Agency (EA) is in the process of improving nine flood gates along the River Tees in Yarm, in Tees Valley.

Stockton Council has approved the work, which will allow the gates to be used safely in bad weather.

Jack Hugill, from the EA, said the new gates would provide the "best possible flood protection for Yarm".

Work to improve the flood gates started in February.

Six of the gates have already been upgraded and work on the remaining defences will take place later this year, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

There are 32 flood gates and 0.8 miles (1.3km) of flood wall around Yarm, which aim to reduce flooding to more than 500 homes and businesses.

The EA said the current gates had deteriorated "faster than expected" and heavy rainfall saw the River Tees burst its banks during Storm Babet and Storm Gerrit.

Flood gates will be improved to make them safer to use in windy weather

"The old gates were considered to be potentially dangerous to operate in windy conditions or on uneven ground, putting our staff at risk of injury," said Mr Hugill.

"We secured agreement with landowners to make some flood gate openings smaller, and to change some flood gates to a sliding mechanism to make them safer to operate."

The EA applied for a "certificate of lawfulness" from Stockton Council to carry out the upgrades.

Julie Butcher, the council's head of legal services, said the EA did not own the land but could carry on the work as part of its operations to improve flood defences.

She said the work was permitted without the need for planning permission, as long as it would not have a significant effect on the environment.