Residents of Riverside Drive in Kearsley, facing repeated flooding threats, have rallied to build their own flood defenses after a proposed £30 million project by the Environment Agency was stalled due to lack of funding. The dedicated community members worked together, filling and placing sandbags along the banks of the River Irwell, determined to protect their homes from potential flooding.
A community in urgent need of flood protection, denied the assistance due to a £30 million price tag, has taken matters into their own hands by constructing makeshift defenses. Last Saturday (February 1), over 30 residents of Riverside Drive in Prestolee, Kearsley , spent their day filling and strategically placing sandbags along the banks of the River Irwell near their homes.
Many residents are convinced that previously installed, informal flood defenses, funded by the community themselves, saved their homes from catastrophic flooding on New Year's Day 2025. The recent efforts focused on filling low points identified during the heavy rainfall at the start of the year.This collective action has been hailed by a local councillor as 'community spirit at its best'. Neighbors organized a 'brew station' to provide hot beverages and biscuits, while supportive resident Neil Fairclough kept spirits high with impromptu DJ sets, playing music and sharing laughter as the volunteers diligently filled sandbags. Residents on Riverside Drive have a history of enduring devastating floods and close calls, with 39 properties inundated on Boxing Day 2015 and 22 of those same homes flooded again in February 2020. The sustained, torrential rain on New Year's Eve 2024 prompted frantic residents to move their belongings to upper floors and evacuate vehicles from the area as the River Irwell threatened to overflow its banks near the estate.Last year, the Environment Agency (EA) informed residents that funding for a proposed flood defense project had not been secured. They revealed that they had £9 million pledged towards the £30 million project, but emphasized their inability to proceed further due to the lack of additional funding. Since then, the project has been at a standstill. Councillor Sylvia Crossley attended the event, which was organized after residents raised £2,400 for materials. She expressed her admiration saying: “I went on Saturday to get my hands dirty. What I saw was community spirit at its best. The atmosphere and sense of purpose was absolutely brilliant. “Seeing a group of people come together like that was amazing.” During the New Year near miss, water levels rose in nearby gardens but thankfully did not breach any properties. Speaking last month, Riverside Drive resident Darren Hooper, 55, who has lived through the flooding events of the past decade, stated his firm belief that the makeshift defenses had protected their homes. He asserted: “On New Year's Eve had it not been for the local defences we would have flooded – I know that. “The river was beyond its limit. I think there should be as many mitigation schemes as possible to protect our homes.” He shared his experience of the defenses preventing flooding on two other occasions. Last month, at a meeting of Bolton full council, Kearsley councillor Tracey Wilkinson highlighted the plight of the villagers whose homes are vulnerable to the river. She stated: “The news that the Environment Agency scheme has stalled has been a crushing blow to the community. “The Riverside Drive flood committee are once again exploring what they can do to protect their homes. Their previous efforts have already saved their properties from flooding on three separate occasions. “These residents face immense hardship with every heavy rainfall, flood alert and furniture moving to higher floors. It is unacceptable that they are being left to fight this battle alone simply because the number of affected properties is small.”Council leader Nick Peel acknowledged the efforts made by town hall officers and other services to assist with flood prevention over the New Year period. He expressed disappointment regarding the EA's inability to secure the necessary funding for an engineered flood defense solution at the location. He added: “EA officers have been requested to draw up options, including temporary measures that could be employed as alternatives to the £30m project. The EA is also looking at the upper Irwell strategy, a programme of natural flood management that will reduce the risk to communities.
Flood Defence Community Effort Environment Agency River Irwell Kearsley Bolton
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