Prepare your property
- Important items and documents upstairs or at height
- Separate electrical circuit for upper and lower floors
- Boiler moved to upper floor of wall-mounted on ground floor
Lundwood, Barnsley
Construction expected 2024–2026
Estimated £4 million
Lundwood is a predominantly residential area around 3km north-east of Barnsley town centre. The area, particularly around Lang Avenue, has suffered extensive flooding in recent years. It flooded in 2019 and, most recently, during Storm Babet in October 2023. These and other events have had a devastating impact on the community, properties and road infrastructure. In 2020, flood waters reached depths of around a metre in some properties.
Intense rainfall can mean that surface water is not able to drain away, resulting in flooding to homes and roads. Many of the homes affected form part of Barnsley Council’s housing stock. As such, they are home to residents who may be vulnerable or on lower incomes.
Surface Water flooding in Lundwood in 2019
After the 2007 floods the council took steps to improve property resilience and provide a level of protection for internal areas. But it became clear that flood alleviation measures required a collective response. Key organisations have now come together, including Barnsley Council, Bernaslai Homes (who manage homes on behalf of the council), the Environment Agency and Yorkshire Water.
Since 2021 the Council, working with Berneslai Homes, has been investigating the causes of flooding in this area. They aim to understand what they can do to reduce the risks of flooding.
Together, the partners are developing a flood alleviation scheme. The scheme will address the threat from surface water flooding and reduce the risk of flooding to properties.
Work is progressing to design a new highway drainage system. It will remove surface water from the Yorkshire Water system, improving storage and reducing the impact of flooding. The design will reconstruct the carriageway to bring it up to today’s standards. It’ll feature new kerbs and gullies, plus a reshaped footpath that improves surface water run-off.
Ahead of delivering this scheme the council has sought ways to reduce the impact of flooding. This work has included cleaning out the ditch on the western side of the Trans Pennine Trail embankment.
Ditch maintenance has already reduced flooding. Once the scheme develops, there will be a reduced risk of flooding to around 90 properties.
As well as reducing the risk and impact of flooding, the scheme will benefit the community in other ways. It will lead to savings for organisations around the costs of responding to and recovering from flood events.
See Barnsley Metropolitan Borough Council’s information on the scheme.