Work is set to start next week on a £1.8m project to create a flood basin in a public park and protect 200 homes in Horwich town centre. The work, in Old Station Park and funded by the Environment Agency, starts on August 8 and is expected to be completed by December.
The project is designed to tackle a long history of flooding to properties in the town centre from Pearl Brook. There have been six reported flooding incidents in the area in the last 20 years and the problem is expected to get worse due to climate change. Up to 200 properties could be at risk of flooding during exceptional rainfall events.
The project aims to use part of Old Station Park to temporarily store flood water during large storms by using the existing embankments to form a storage basin. Some new sections of embankment will be constructed to complete the basin in the area between Pearl Brook and St John Street.
