A public information event about the forthcoming Church Street – Whitby Flood Alleviation Scheme will be held on Wednesday, 31 October, between 10.30am and 7.00pm at Whitby Merchant Seaman’s Hospital Houses on Church Street, Scarborough Borough Council informs.
Whitby has a long history of tidal flooding, with records back to the 1800s. Tidal flooding of the Church Street and New Quay areas of the town center occurs relatively frequently. Major events were most recently reported in 2005 and 2011.
Church Street also flooded during the December 2013 storm surge causing the flooding of many properties and the highway, which caused major disruption.
There are currently no formal flood defenses in place to prevent tidal overtopping of the quay walls. The existing quay walls function as retaining walls and to prevent erosion from fluvial and tidal flows. Therefore any tide which exceeds the height of the top of the quay wall flows into the road and subsequently floods adjacent properties.
The flood alleviation scheme would involve the construction of a reinforced concrete flood wall along sections of Church Street to improve the standard of protection for 54 residential and 8 commercial properties.
The scheme encompasses 350 meters of Church Street; the main element of which is a flood wall, 265 meters long, immediately adjacent to the public footpath from Parkol Marine to Church Street car park.
The council recently tendered for a contractor to carry out the scheme construction works. The submitted tenders have been reviewed and a preferred contractor will soon be recommended for Cabinet approval. It is expected that work on the scheme will begin in early 2019.