Failed culvert which creates ‘significant risk’ of homes flooding in Sheffield will finally be fixed

The council’s transport, regeneration and climate policy committee will next week (June 12) discuss a report on how the fixing of a failed culvert on Clough Dike would be necessary to prevent a repeat of the flooding of nine homes in 2019 in Deepcar.

The report added the council would need around £80k a year for temporary arrangements but was instead able to secure £1.4m from the government and the Environment Agency to fix the issue permanently.

The document said Clough Dike drains “a 74 ha catchment of urban, agricultural and recreational land into a stream, through a steeply graded valley of deciduous broadleaved woodlands, into the town of Deepcar where it enters the Fox Glen culvert”.

Clough Dike then drains to the Little Don downstream of Deepcar.

It is reported that the culvert under Woodroyd Road has “partly failed” and blocked which is presenting a significant risk of flooding.

The paper said a flood in November 2019 resulted in internal flooding to nine properties and flood assessment suggests up to 35 homes could be at risk.

The document added that an “expensive” flood risk mitigation scheme made up of pumps and “enhanced response procedures” has been in place, costing £80k a year.

“This has prevented a repeat of property flooding but disruption and flooding to the parkland and roads has occurred on numerous occasions, most recently in October’s Storm Babet where a repeat of 2019’s flooding was only narrowly avoided,” it said.

The council’s bid for £1,390,163 of flood and coastal erosion risk management grant-in-aid and £112,000 of Local Levy funding from the Environment Agency was successful.