Haringey is undertaking bold and innovative action to tackle hazardous weather brought on by climate change with investment of over £2m to maintain and deliver new flood mitigation measures.
The safety of the borough remains the council’s number one priority and is dedicated to doing its upmost to ensure Haringey residents, businesses and wildlife are protected from the dangers of severe weather events.
In addition to maintaining the 21 Sustainable Drainage Systems (SuDS) already been installed across Haringey, which use natural solutions to slow down the flow of rainwater, the council is proposing to use part of its major investment to deliver more drainage schemes.
Included in the plans are major projects to mitigate flooding in Muswell Hill, Priory Park, South Tottenham and Turnpike Lane.
Funding will also be spent on continuing the annual cleansing of all 15,000 gullies across the borough at least once to help prevent surface water flooding, with those in high-risk areas to be maintained more regularly. It will also help the council to repair and replace gullies where needed.
Cllr Seema Chandwani, Cabinet Member for Customer Service, Welfare and The Public Realm, said:
This new £2m investment will help us to not only continue the vital work we are doing, but to also introduce new and innovative ways to prevent flooding for our residents and local businesses, whilst also enhancing wildlife and biodiversity.
The climate emergency is worrying for us all, affecting us on a very local level, and I would like to assure you that we are doing our upmost to minimise the risk of flooding and are working hard to protect Haringey.
Residents and local businesses who have been previously affected by flooding or are within an area highlighted as high-risk can be rest assured that they are our priority, with a number of projects already proposed to address areas of concern.
I look forward to seeing these exciting projects come to life, and I hope residents will see the benefits that our flood prevention schemes bring throughout Haringey.
More than £1.5m of investment will help deliver additional risk management projects and almost £500,000 in gully cleansing following recommendations in the three investigations the council undertook following the two flooding incidents that took place in July 2021. These projects will help build resilience from future significant storm events.
The investigations highlighted the importance of the ongoing flood prevention works that are already taking place, including the priority cleaning of gullies in high-risk areas.
