Important proposals to invest in the future Treorchy Flood Alleviation Scheme will be presented to the community in a four-week consultation exercise from September 25 – which will include two events to be held locally.
The town of Treorchy is identified as one of our highest-risk communities for surface water and ordinary watercourse flooding. Storm events in recent years have further identified the area as a priority to invest in major flood alleviation work – including Storm Dennis, where 44 residential and four commercial properties flooded. A Section 19 flood report into the primary cause of flooding found it was due to significant run-off from the steep hillsides above the area.
The Treorchy Flood Alleviation Scheme is a future programme of measures to reduce the risk of flooding, and improve local infrastructure to install a level of flood protection for a 1 in 100-year storm event, with added allowance for climate change. The Council has appointed Redstart as a consultant to screen and analyse several options for the Scheme. A preferred option has now been produced, for its further development.
Residents will be able to find out more about the preferred option, and have their say on what is proposed, in an upcoming public consultation process. The exercise will run from Monday, September 25, to Monday, October 23. Local residents have received a letter advising them of the consultation.
The consultation will be hosted on the RCT Let’s Talk engagement website – which will include information, maps, and also a survey that residents can complete to provide feedback. Paper copies of the survey will be available at community locations like The Park and Dare Theatre and Treorchy Library.
Two in-person exhibition events will also be held at The Park and Dare Theatre on Tuesday, October 10, and Wednesday, October 11. The project team will be able to answer residents’ queries from midday to 7.30pm – while the proposals will be presented at four timeslots (1pm, 5pm, 6pm and 7pm).
Anyone who wishes to attend one of the presentation timeslots should contact the Council in advance to reserve their place, as there is a limited capacity. Please call us on 01443 425014 or email consultation@rctcbc.gov.uk.
Councillor Andrew Morgan OBE, Leader of Rhondda Cynon Taf Council and Cabinet Member for Infrastructure and Investment, said: “The Council has worked very closely with its appointed specialist consultants, to bring forward a preferred option for a proposed investment in major flood alleviation measures for Treorchy. Over the next month, we will be sharing these details in an extensive engagement process with the community and stakeholders.
“Since Storm Dennis, the Council has published all 19 of the required Section 19 reports to investigate the causes of flooding in communities. The report for Treorchy, published in February 2022, included analysis on what happened and what can be done to reduce flood risk if a similar event ever happened. The findings of the report have helped inform the proposed Flood Alleviation Scheme.
“Important flood alleviation work has already taken place on land south of Treorchy Cemetery, with significant funding from Welsh Government. This initial phase of work was undertaken in 2022, by maintaining and upgrading several watercourse assets around the top end of Cemetery Road and Column St – including culvert lining and repairs, channel reconstruction, and access improvements to make future maintenance of the area easier.
“The Council is in the early development stages of the main scheme – and the upcoming consultation is an important exercise to inform of our progress to date and to ask residents for their feedback. The public can take part online from September 25, or by attending one of two events at the Park and Dare Theatre on October 10-11. I’d urge the community to have its say and add its local knowledge at this stage, to inform the development of the proposals.”
Posted on 22/09/2023