Walton-le-Dale flood defence scheme update given in wake of London Road flooding

An aerial view showing how close the River Ribble came to bursting at London Road Pic: Sonia Bashir

Progress on new flood defences for Walton-le-Dale is due to be made this summer after the London Road area came dangerously close to major flooding.

Emergency services were deployed on New Year’s Day to the London Road and Victoria Road area after flooding shut the A6 and bridge between Preston and South Ribble.

But the Environment Agency say the existing flood defence wall held at London Road and flooding was ‘likely surface water flooding’.

Work is due to move to the Walton-le-Dale area after the focus of a £54.7million flood defence scheme for Preston and South Ribble switches from the current Penwortham and Broadgate section which began work in 2022.

The River Ribble and River Darwen rose rapidly on New Year’s Eve and while many roads were flooded the city escaped widespread flooding to properties – although a small number of homes and businesses were affected. Pictures below show the extent of the near flooding in Walton-le-Dale with the River Ribble bursting its banks onto farmland nearby.

London Road area flooding in Walton-le-Dale Pic: Sonia Bashir

A spokesperson for the Environment Agency told Blog Preston: “Over New Year we experienced no issue with the recently constructed new flood defences along Broadgate and Lower Penwortham and we’ll continue important work to complete the remaining walls in the coming months. It’s clear to see the need for improved flood defences, and our heart goes out to those communities which did experience flooding.

“Climate change means intense rainfall events like this are happening more often. The Environment Agency is delivering a long-term funding programme of flood defences, investing over £1.25 billion this year to scale up national resilience.

“We are developing the next phase of the Preston and South Ribble Flood Risk Management Scheme, around Walton-le-Dale, and we’d ask people to take part in the upcoming consultation.”

The Agency, who are responsible for the flood defence scheme, say they have been preparing a detailed design for improvements to the existing flood defences at London Road and a planning application is due to go to South Ribble Borough Council during summer 2025 after a consultation is run with the local community.

Work on the Penwortham side of the flood defence scheme finished in late 2024, and a section of the Broadgate scheme remains unfinished.

In early December Blog Preston revealed engineers had hit problems along the Riverside stretch and this would see part of the footpath and road closed for a year longer than planned. The installation of flood gates at the Miller Park entrance in South Meadow Lane has also been delayed.

The Environment Agency said the over-running works in Broadgate were not due to affect the Walton-le-Dale scheme starting.

Work is due to finish in Walton-le-Dale by 2027.

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