Welsh Government contributes towards major flood defences in village devastated by 2020 storm

Anthony Lewis, local democracy reporter

Funding of £800,000 from the Welsh Government will go towards a major flood scheme in a village devastated by flooding during Storm Dennis.

Rhondda Cynon Taf (RCT) Council has announced it has secured the funding which it will invest in further major flood alleviation work in the village, on top of the significant measures already carried out since Storm Dennis.

In June and July 2023, the council consulted residents about a preferred option being developed for the Pentre Flood Alleviation Scheme.

The scheme will be a multi-million pound investment in infrastructure, capturing rainwater from the upper catchments of Pentre and directing it through a newly-located culvert system at ground level.

The council has been awarded the £800,000 funding support from the Welsh Government’s Flood and Coastal Risk Management Programme, to help deliver the full business case and the detailed design.

Unprecedented

Pentre was one of the hardest-hit communities during the unprecedented rainfall of Storm Dennis in February 2020.

The council said major work has since taken place on the ground to alleviate future flood risk

This funding will enable the council to begin the technical design stage of the scheme over the next 18 months – which will essentially take forward the design that was shared with the community last summer.

The first steps will be to appoint external consultants for the scheme, and to begin initial survey work.

The council said residents can keep up-to-date with progress through local liaison groups that will be set up with community representatives and a dedicated page on the council’s website will be kept updated.

Councillor Andrew Morgan, leader of Rhondda Cynon Taf Council and cabinet member for infrastructure and investment, said: “We have welcomed this important funding support from the Welsh Government to help progress the Pentre Flood Alleviation Scheme – which is a commitment by the council to invest in further flood alleviation measures for the village.

“This will be a major project, designed and delivered over a number of years, as we look to protect the community from the threat of future severe weather events.

“A preferred option for the scheme’s design was shared with the community last summer, and the newly-secured funding will enable officers to progress to the full business case and the detailed design stage.

“A Section 19 report for flooding in Pentre during Storm Dennis was the first of 19 we published, and it has helped us to understand why flooding occurred locally, and informed our efforts to reduce the flood risk if a similar storm event ever occurred.

“While much of the work to date has gone on behind the scenes, residents can be assured that the Pentre Flood Alleviation Scheme is a priority for us – and the newly-secured funding will enable a consultant to be appointed and for initial survey work to take place on the ground.

“The council will regularly update its dedicated webpage to highlight the progress that is being made, and will communicate all of the key milestones with local residents.”

The work that has been done in Pentre since Storm Dennis includes:

Survey of around 3.2km of ordinary watercourses and 5.5km of surface water drainage infrastructure
Completion of a business case for the Upper Rhondda Strategic Flood Risk Area
Completion of significant work at the Pentre Road inlet
Completion of an overland flow interception scheme in Pentre Road
Completion of an overflow structure next to Lewis Street and Pleasant Street
Completion of a flood routing scheme at Pentre Park
Completion of a surface water overflow connection at Lewis Street with Dwr Cymru Welsh Water
Completion of an upgrade to an overflow manhole in Volunteer Street
Completion of repairs to existing ordinary watercourse manholes at several locations.
Highway drainage repairs across the community of Pentre,
Completion gof structural rehabilitation works to ordinary watercourse culverts through Pentre.