Middlewich sewer improvements

Scheme update - 14 June

Cross Lane

As our scheme to alleviate sewer flooding in Middlewich reaches a conclusion I'm pleased to say that our major construction work in the area has been completed. We are now in a position to make the final connections from properties to the new sewer that we've built along Cross Lane.

Many of these connections were carried out under our previous road closure but one final section remains. This section requires other utility services underneath the road to be diverted before it can happen. The majority of this diversion work has recently been completed and we will carry out the remainder of the work week commencing 25 July.

Unfortunately we will need to put in place a road closure to allow us to safely work in the road. This will be much shorter than last time; we don't anticipate it being any longer than 2 weeks. The road will be closed at the Warmingham Lane end extending to outside house number 57. Regrettably it will not be possible to maintain vehicle access for those houses that fall within this working area.

We appreciate that this scheme has caused significant disruption for you already and we offer our sincere apologies for that. We will do our utmost to complete this work as swiftly and safely as possible and would like to take this opportunity to thank you once again for your ongoing patience and support during our work on Cross Lane.

We are proud to announce that we have agreed a three year lead sponsorship deal for the flagship Folk and Boat Festival. The sponsorship will help towards the cost of organising and running the popular free event, which has brought great music and entertainment to the town for more than 20 years.

Our landscaping contractor is in the process of restoring the area. You can also view this PDF to see the plans of how it will look.

What is sewer flooding?

Some of the sewers and drains in Middlewich date back to the Victorian times. Since then, the population has grown as the town expanded. More houses and businesses mean more wastewater going into our pipes and less permeable surfaces for rainwater to drain into. Our climate is also changing leading to longer, heavier periods of rain. These two factors result in the existing sewers and drains not being able to cope at certain times.

When there are heavy rainstorms, too much water goes through the pipes, and the sewers become overloaded. As this happens, wastewater escapes back up through the drains spilling into roads, car parks and homes. We call this sewer flooding.

This has been happening in Middlewich over recent years with certain hot spots subject to sewer flooding on a re-occurring basis. If we do nothing, the situation is likely to get worse over time with more areas being affected more often.

How can we fix this?

There is a solution. This is not a problem unique to Middlewich and our engineering experts have solved this in other parts of the North West. We need to increase the size of some of the sewer pipes and build a tank underground which can store the storm water at peak times and then pump it back into the system when the water has subsided.

Our work in Middlewich

In Middlewich we are carrying out a five stage plan to aliviate sewer flooding in the area, which will include:

• Installation of a below ground storage tank underneath the park area off Chadwick Road, at the junction with Warmingham Lane. Duration 11 months.
• A new larger sewer pipe to run along Booth Lane, duration 6 months.
• A new larger sewer pipe on Cross Lane, duration 6 months.
• A new larger sewer pipe on Warmingham Lane, duration 5 months.
• A new sewer in the fields off Warmingham Lane, duration 10 months.

From week commencing Monday 24 August 2009 you will notice an increase in construction related activity in the park area off Chadwick Road, at the junction with Warmingham Lane. Throughout this work we will continue to keep you up date with our progress and will aim to carry out this work with the minimum amount of disruption to you.

Public exhibition

If you didn't make either our public exhibitions held in summer 2009 please click the links below to find some of the information we provided.

• Sewer flooding solution
• Overall works plan
• Proposed tempory site compound
• Tree removal and protection plan (subject to planning approval)

Road works and diversions