Flood defences are set to protect a riverside neighbourhood earmarked for hundreds of homes in Sheffield.

Sheffield City Council has won £6.6m funding to develop plans for Neepsend and Kelham Island which are divided by the River Don.

It will be the third big scheme triggered by the devastating floods of 2007.

The new phase will see engineers develop plans for improvements to river walls, new flood walls and embankments, and waterproofing measures for some buildings.

The funding, announced by the Environment Agency, will also help pay for surveys, technical assessments and the specialist approvals needed before construction can begin, the authority says.

Earlier this year, Sheffield City Council announced plans for 430 new homes on Cornish and Dixon streets in Kelham Island one of the city’s most popular neighbourhoods.

Flood defences protecting Malin Bridge and Hillsborough were unveiled in 2023, and defences around Attercliffe and Meadowhall were completed in 2017.

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The work has led to complaints flood water has been channelled downstream to Rotherham and Doncaster.

Coun Alexi Dimond, chair of the transport, regeneration and climate policy committee at Sheffield City Council, said flooding due to climate change was one of the city’s “biggest challenges.”

He added: “This investment is an important milestone in bringing forward long-term flood protection for communities in the Upper Don Valley.”