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Whaley Bridge dam spillway to be decommissioned and replaced

Getty Images Chinook over damGetty Images
The partially collapsed dam spillway at Toddbrook Reservoir risked flooding Whaley Bridge in August last year

A dam spillway whose partial collapse led to a town being evacuated last year is set to be decommissioned.

The Canal and River Trust said proposals to restore Toddbrook Reservoir would see the overflow replaced by a grassy slope.

About 1,500 people were evacuated from Whaley Bridge in August 2019 over fears the Derbyshire town would be flooded.

A consultation process has started on two alternative locations for the spillway.

One option would be to build a new spillway to the left of the damaged dam wall which would pass through part of the Whaley Bridge Sailing Club car park.

Canal and River Trust Option ACanal and River Trust
The first option would take the spillway through the town's sailing club's car park

This could have an impact on the sailing club's launch slipway but the trust - which leases land to the club - said it would make "suitable alternative arrangements".

The other option proposed would be to build a spillway through woodland to the right of the old overflow, which would go through the town's war memorial park.

In a letter to residents, the trust said it would "treat this area with due sensitivity and importance".

Canal and River Trust Whaley Bridge spillway option bCanal and River Trust
The second option would see a spillway channel built through woodland at Whaley Bridge's war memorial park

A Canal and River Trust spokesman said 13 different permanent options had been considered.

Both spillways would flow into the River Goyt, should they be needed.

The consultation has come after footpaths around the reservoir were opened in August.

Whaley Bridge: How events unfolded

The area had been fenced off to allow emergency works to secure the dam slipway to continue.

A decision on the new permanent slope will be made in the autumn.

Work will not begin until 2021, is due to be finished in 2023 and set to cost more than £10m.

Canal & River Trust Work on the dam 2020Canal & River Trust
The trust said the dam was now "secure against any extreme weather event"

High-volume pumps would remain in place to keep water levels in the reservoir low until the restoration project was completed.

Any excess rainwater falling in the reservoir would continue to be removed by pumps and it would remain drained until all repair work was finished.

The trust's asset improvement director Simon Bamford said the repairs would enable the reservoir "to continue in its vital task of supplying water to the Peak Forest Canal".

He added: "Keeping people safe is our top priority."

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