THE government has given the green light to a £31 million flood defence scheme for Exeter which will see dredging of the River Exe start this summer.
The first stage of work on the new scheme is expected to start in June and will involve dredging existing channels to maximise the River Exe's flow capacity, increasing it from around 700 cubic metres per second to 820.
This will be followed next year by the start of construction of 7.4km of raised defences, subject to planning permission, with the whole project set for completion by Christmas 2017.
The scheme, which has taken several years to design, will improve Exeter's resilience in the event of extreme weather, protecting 3,270 homes and businesses currently at risk of flooding.
The city's existing defences – built between 1962–77 in the wake of the severe floods of 1960
In Exeter the key constraint is seen as the river bridges, and the scheme is designed to squeeze as much water through those bridges as possible.
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