Flood defence cash boost for Lincolnshire Lakes homes plan

A council is set to invest £13m on a flood defence scheme for a major housing project planned near Scunthorpe.

The £612m Lincolnshire Lakes project would see two newly-created villages on a flood plain to the west of the town, near Burringham and Gunness.

Plans, which were approved by North Lincolnshire Council last October, include 6,000 homes built by 2028.

A three-day public inquiry into the scheme is due to start on Tuesday.

The housing development will be situated around a series of artificial lakes

The council said work to "provide continuous piling of the right hand side of the River Trent Bank for 2.4 miles between the M180 motorway and Keadby Railway Bridge" would start in April.

Engineering firm Mott MacDonald has been appointed to design the flood defence scheme.

Under the plans, a new primary school, stadium, community centre and retirement home, as well as new access roads and local shops serving the villages, would be built among a series of artificial lakes.

It would be "three times the size of Barton", the authority said.

The villages of Burringham and Keadby were flooded during a tidal surge along the Humber Estuary in December 2013.

The surge caused a breach in the bank of the River Trent.

As a result, those concerned about flooding in the area called for a public inquiry into the scheme.

North Lincolnshire Council leader Liz Redfern said: "We have invested £13m for the flood defence work and this will help prevent any future flooding into the new villages.

"It will also help improve flood defences for existing villages such as Burringham."

Funding for the flood defences has come from the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills.