FLOOD alleviation works valued at £36,000 have been completed in Windermere.

The project was finished at Finsthwaite, south west of Lake Windermere, and was arranged by Cumbria County Council.

The scheme involved the diversion of a compromised and restricted watercourse, which was found to be a major factor in previous flooding events that affected the local community.

The works were carried out by a local contractor, Metcalfe Plant Hire Ltd, on behalf of Cumbria County Council.

The area around Finsthwaite has a history of flooding events; the result of an undersized and deteriorated culverted watercourse system running directly under pastoral farmland, gardens and private properties. In extreme rainfall events, the surrounding steeply sloped fields generate increased water run-off, which overwhelms the damaged culvert. The water then surcharges from the culvert mouth and flows over-ground towards local residential properties.

Cllr Keith Little, Cumbria County Council’s Cabinet Member for Highways and Transport, said: “I am pleased that these important works have been completed in Finsthwaite, providing better protection to a number of properties that have previously suffered from flooding.

“The council’s investment into flood alleviation projects is essential to provide the best protection for our communities, and to avoid the devastation that flooding can bring to people’s lives, their homes and their families.

“I’d like to thank the local community for their patience whilst these works were programmed and completed, our contractors, and all involved in the various projects around Cumbria to ensure communities are confident in having the best protection against flood-risk possible.”