Hoe Valley Scheme is given the green light

23 February 2010

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A £40 million pound scheme to take hundreds of Woking homes out of the flood plain, provide a range of new community facilities and bring about improvements to both highways and public amenity areas received extensive cross-party support at a meeting of Woking Borough Council last night (Monday 22 February 2010).

The Hoe Valley Scheme has been a Council aspiration for over twenty years and now, following considerable investigations and background research, the go-ahead has finally been given for this important investment, in partnership with the Environment Agency.

The comprehensive scheme will have multiple benefits for the local area. Specifically, it will:

  • remove nearly 200 residential properties from the flood plain and protect the gardens of over a further 60 properties

  • provide new community facilities out of the flood plain for nine community groups

  • protect Westfield School from flooding

  • clear up approximately 12 acres (4.86 hectares) of contaminated land

  • extend and enhance Woking Park with footway and cycle facilities joining Barnsbury and Westfield with the town centre

  • improve the highway infrastructure at the Westfield Avenue/Kingfield Road

  • rebuild Elm Bridge and three other bridges across the Hoe Stream

  • provide two new training pitches in Woking Park and

  • provide around 150 new homes for sale all free from flooding.

The Public Works Loan Board will provide the money for the Council to undertake the scheme. After receiving a number of grants, including £3.7 million from the Environment Agency, income from the sale of new homes and income from the sale of other assets, the Council expects the scheme to be fully funded by 2014 without the need for ongoing costs to be charged to Council Tax.

Speaking about the decision, Cllr Richard Sharp, Deputy Leader of the Liberal Democrats and Chairman of the cross-party Hoe Valley Member Oversight Panel, said: "This is a great opportunity to resolve many of the problems of the Hoe Valley, remove residents' properties from the risk of flooding, enhance Woking Park for all, and provide vital facilities for young people in the community."

Woking Borough Council's Leader of the Executive, Cllr John Kingsbury, added: "This investment in Hoe Valley is long overdue. I am delighted the Council has agreed to proceed so that residents affected by flooding in this part of the Hoe Stream can be protected. I look forward to all the new facilities being available for community groups and residents by 2012.

It is also important to mention that we have authorised investigative work to be carried out into extending the flood protection to other parts of the Hoe Stream and will consider this further in early 2011."

Works are planned to start on the scheme during March and it is anticipated that the flood protection will be completed during 2011.

About the Public Works Loan Board

The Public Works Loan Board (PWLB) is a statutory body operating within the United Kingdom Debt Management Office, an Executive Agency of HM Treasury.

PWLB's function is to lend money from the National Loans Fund to local authorities and other prescribed bodies, and to collect the repayments. For further information, visit www.dmo.gov.uk/index.aspx?page=PWLB/Introduction