10:27am Saturday 27th September 2008
Residents in more than 2,500 homes will now be able to sleep safer in their beds with the completion of the Environment Agency defences.
The £18 million scheme to improve flood protection from the River Ouse has had five distinct phases, with work going on over almost four years since Selby MP John Grogan launched the complex scheme in November 2004.
Mr Grogan, who unveiled a plaque marking the official opening yesterday, said: “Four times in the last century, in 1947, 1982, 1995 and 2000, Selby was threatened with severe flooding.
“The new state of the art flood defences can’t remove that threat completely because of the geography of the area and climate change, but they should protect the area for the next couple of generations.”
More than 3,000 properties in and around Selby were affected in the major floods of 2000, when the Ouse overtopped its banks.
Since then, more than five miles of defences have been built from Barlby in the north, through Selby town centre and out to the bypass in the south.
Project manager Anthony Myatt said: “The risk of flooding in Selby has been significantly reduced, and I’m delighted to announce the completion of this major project.”
