Salford Council has approved £1.7 million of funding for drain upgrades in Walkden.
The scheme will look to create new natural drains in areas where there is a risk of flooding, as an alternative to draining water into the sewers.
This includes creating new street trees and rain gardens.
The work will take place along Manchester Road and Whittle Street Park, 150 to 166 Walkden Road, and Birch Road West and East.
More than £1 million was given to the council for the work from United Utilities, with the Environment Agency putting up more than £350,000.
The scheme was welcomed by Salford council’s cabinet at a town hall meeting on July 23.
It builds on insight from the Greater Manchester Combined Authority-led IGNITION project, which compiled evidence on how urban nature-based solutions can help build the city-region’s resilience to the impacts of climate change.
Councillor Bill Hinds said:
“I am encouraged by this, I think it is really important and we’re moving in the right direction.
“We should be looking elsewhere at how we can improve the situation around the city. The more we can do the better.”
Councillor Mike McCusker said Salford residents can also play a role, by using their gardens as natural drains for rainwater.
In April, the council came under fire from the Conservative opposition over the state of the borough’s drains.
Councillor Robin Garrido said at the time that drains around the city had been “deteriorating for a number of years” and that parts of the borough were suffering from frequent flooding.
The comments were made after Salford council approved a £450,000 package of drain repairs.
Alongside the plan to create new natural drains around Salford, City Mayor Paul Dennett said more work needs to be done to tackle sewage spills in the city’s waterways.
Recent data has shown that Greater Manchester’s rivers are among the worst impacted in England for sewage.
Mr Dennett said:
“We have made great progress with improving water quality, but there’s a lot of work to do when you look at the numbers involved with sewage discharge in the River Irwell.”
He called for United Utilities and the Environment Agency to attend a Salford cabinet meeting to hear the council’s concerns.
Councillor Mike McCusker, Lead Member for Planning, Transport and Sustainable Development at Salford City Council, said:
“The formal acceptance of this money is all part of our Greenspace Strategy and will protect homes, businesses and the roads from flooding in both Walkden North and South.
“(SuDS) are drainage solutions that provide an alternative to the direct channelling of surface water through networks of pipes and sewers to nearby watercourses. This will reduce surface water flooding in the urban area. These measures will help to mitigate the effects of new development on surface water risk.
“I’d like to thank all out partners for this funding to help improve the local area for our residents.”
The funding for the project is broken down below:
- Salford City Council capital programme and Section 106 monies £226,913
- United Utilities (UU) Green Recovery grant £1,128,000
- Greater Manchester Combined Authority’s Green Spaces Fund £40,000
- Environment Agency grant £350,729
