Derbyshire council approves flood protection scheme
Residents in Matlock are set to benefit from funding towards protecting their community from flooding
Derbyshire County Council’s Cabinet approved the Flood Risk Management Scheme into its Highways Capital Programme for the 2026-27 financial year after considering a report at a meeting on March 12.
The £84,000 Matlock Property Flood Resilience scheme aims to provide better measures to protect seven frequently flooded properties on Mettesford and Lilybank Close, in Matlock, in the Derbyshire Dales and the Peak District.
Funding for the Matlock scheme has been sourced externally by the Flood Risk Management team from the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs and from a Local Levy mechanism to be collected by the council to finance flood defences.
The budget funding for this scheme has been sourced externally by the Flood Risk Management team from Network Rail, Grant in Aid and the Local Levy system.
A council report stated that Derbyshire’s Flood Risk Management strategy is ‘to reduce the level of flood risk to the residents of Derbyshire’ and these schemes will work towards reducing that risk in these relevant areas.
It added that Derbyshire’s Flood Risk Management strategy also aims to ‘work to restore, protect and enhance the historic and natural environments’ of the county with the Natural Flood Management schemes expected to improve habitat and water quality while also improving biodiversity in these areas.
Matlock has notoriously suffered from flooding problems in recent years including a flash flood in July, last year, at Lime Grove Walk, near Lilybank Close.
Dozens of residents and business owners have properties in Matlock which are known to be at risk from flooding and the The River Derwent has caused flooding many times in the town’s history.
In July, 2023, a summer storm brought flash floods to the town’s roads including around Matlock Green and the A615 Bakewell Road between Crown Square and Dimple Road, and a private boundary wall also partially collapsed into the Bentley Brook, and Matlock Town Football Club’s ground was also waterlogged.
Matlock was also hit by serious flooding after Storm Franklin battered the county with torrential rain and strong winds in February, 2022, flooding Bakewell Road.