River Dredging Taking Place In Market Harborough

The Environment Agency is carrying out flood prevention work on the River Welland in Market Harborough.

The dredging, de-silting and vegetation clearance operation is taking place on the stretch of water around the Kettering Road and Northampton Road bridges, with large machinery brought in to carry it out.

A spokesman for the Environment Agency told Hfm: “The Environment Agency is carrying out routine dredging work identified last summer on the River Welland in Market Harborough, to maximise river flow around road bridges.

“Dredging is one part of our flood-risk management options. However, not all locations are suitable for dredging – understanding where dredging will and won’t work is key. We consider each location carefully, carrying it out where we have evidence it will make a justifiable difference.”

The work comes ahead of a meeting next month between Harborough District Council and the government agency over concerns about recent flooding locally.

The River Welland in Market Harborough and River Jordan in Little Bowden has breached its banks in places twice since Christmas.

The matter was discussed at a Harborough District Council meeting last night.

Cllr Peter James, who represents Little Bowden, told the meeting an elderly couple living in Rectory Lane had their bungalow flooded just before Christmas when the River Jordan burst its banks:

Owners of the car park and Millennium Mile footpath opposite the railway station off Rockingham Road, where the River Welland meets the River Jordan, will also be at next month’s meeting – it regularly floods during heavy rainfall.

Cllr Michael Rickman, who represents the Nevill ward, told the meeting flooding is a district-wide problem:

Pic: Vegetation clearance work on the River Welland in Market Harborough Pic: Don West