A
t the Environment Agency it’s our job to manage the risk of flooding and minimise the impacts that floods can cause to people, homes, businesses and infrastructure
What are we doing? We have started work to reduce the risk of flooding in Chesterfield. Riverside trees, branches and other vegetation can cause flooding if they fall into the watercourse and get stuck under bridges. Debris can build up behind them and create an obstruction or dam that holds back water. This can then lead to flooding of properties and land.
Where will we be working? Our maintenance work for the River Hipper (the Chesterfield River Works) will focus on the stretch of river from Walton Fields to where the Hipper joins the River Rother.
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We will be removing trees and debris from the channel. We will carry this work out in two phases: January to March and then again in August to October. Routine winter channel clearance by our in house workforce has recently started on other rivers in the Chesterfield area that we have responsibilities for including the River Rother, River Whitting and River Drone. They will also be doing work on the River Hipper upstream of Walton Field Road to the Haddon Close area. This work only covers the removal of vegetation that may cause flooding.
good condition for birds and aquatic wildlife. Once the trees, and debris have been removed, we will plant low ‐growing vegetation to improve the biodiversity of the area where required. On the stretch of River Hipper from Walton Fields to where the Hipper joins the River Rother we will also remove any invasive non‐native plants such as Japanese knotweed, giant hogweed and Himalayan balsam, that we find.
What next? We want to establish a long‐term maintenance programme for the river Hipper and we are exploring a river stewardship Habitats and biodiversity: We aim approach. We will be discussing this with a wide range of interested to reduce the risk of flooding in Chesterfield whilst being sympathetic organisations. to the natural environment. If you would like to know more about the work we are doing in your area We have planned the work so that it call Jonathon Moxon on 0113 2134926 will take place outside of the bird or email: nesting season. Our surveys have taken into account important habitats jonathan.moxon@environment‐ agency.gov.uk for species such as brown trout, crayfish, otters and bats. We will leave the watercourse in a
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