WORK has begun on a £2.6m project to prevent further flooding nightmares in Ulverston.

The Ulverston Town Beck Flood Alleviation Scheme has been put together by the Environment Agency, Cumbria County Council and Network Rail.

The aim of the scheme is to reduce the risk of Town Beck flooding 290 homes as well as 74 commercial properties.

Town Beck flooded in 2009, causing widespread damage and months of heartbreak for affected householders.

Work began in August and will carry on until autumn next year.

Liz Kelly, assistant site supervisor for the Environment Agency, is based on site every day.

She said: “We have now set up our first two sites at The Gill and at The Ellers.

“The work is going really well and we haven’t been slowed down by anything so far.

“One of our biggest worries was heavy rainfall but we have been lucky to avoid that so far.”

The team’s main focus over the past couple of weeks has been on The Gill area.

A footpath diversion is in place at Gill Banks to allow walkers to follow the Cumbrian Way safely.

The work will include raising existing flood defence walls, installing new floodgates at The Gill and Beckside Court, repairing and refurbishing the underground watercourse and building a flood storage area.

A road closure was implemented along Mill Street and Leather Lane on Monday and will last for three weeks.

The roads are closed to vehicles, apart from residential access to Leather Lane. Pedestrian access will be maintained.

Miss Kelly said: “We have allowed for a winter shutdown as we expect that working within the tight confines of Town Beck will be challenging, especially during wetter periods.

“Closing the site over the winter months will reduce disruption to the local community and reduce the safety risk to our contractors.”

Environment Agency has set up a website to keep the public updated. For more information visit http://www.townbeckfas.co.uk/