Ground investigations for the £800,000 scheme began in April and the scheme is set for completion in November.  

Rochford District Council’s head of the Flood Forum, Cllr Mike Steptoe, said: “This extra funding for Rayleigh will ensure that residents benefit from added flood protection and reassurance over and above the improvements that Rochford District Council has already managed to achieve.”

The works include the construction of a small attenuation bund on a sports fields and works to increase the storage capacity of Sweyne Park pond, which had previously overflowed during periods of heavy rainfall.   

In times of heavy rainfall, the new scheme will allow water to be stored on the school field before discharging through a series of land drains and into the existing surface water drainage system at a controlled rate. The pond works will help increase its storage capacity. These two measures will lower the flood risk in the areas to the west of Sweyne Park School which have suffered repeated flooding. The scheme will protect 55 residential properties.

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