Residents and business owners invited to find out more about how flood risk is managed in Morpeth

The community drop-in is being held on Thursday, May 16 at Morpeth Town Hall (Corn Exchange) from 10.30am to 2.30pm and is accessible to all.

The £27million Morpeth Flood Alleviation Scheme, fully completed in 2017, is the biggest in the North East and includes one of the largest flood storage areas the Environment Agency has ever built.

Storm Babet was the largest storm experienced on the River Wansbeck since the scheme was built. Water levels were very high within the town and although the flood scheme operated as expected, feedback has identified that some residents did not understand what defences were in place and how they worked.

The drop-in aims to share information with the local community to help answer any questions they have and alleviate any concerns.

Simon Wilson, the Environment Agency’s area coastal and flood risk manager, said: “Our team will be on hand to talk to residents and business owners who may wish to find out more about the Morpeth Flood Alleviation Scheme. There may well be members of the public who are unaware of the scheme and how it operates to help protect Morpeth from flooding.

“We will have visuals to help explain the history of flooding in Morpeth, how the scheme was built and how it works.

“We’ll also be offering advice on how to sign up for the flood warning service and general flood resilience advice.”