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Sefton Council has finished the first part of works to improve drainage in the Birkdale coastal area.

As a result of the work, the risk of flooding to properties in the area by surface water has been reduced and habitats in the green beach area have been improved.

Nile and Taggs

The works has been carried out on the Nile and Taggs watercourses in the dune system on the coastal side of the Coastal Road in Birkdale. These channel surface water drainage from properties inland and the road itself.

The existing system is believed to be part of the Cheshire Lines railway line, which was built in the late 1800s.

Dune and saltmarsh

Since then, the level of the beach has risen and the dune and saltmarsh area is also more than 150cm (5 feet) higher in some areas. This has restricted the water from draining onto the foreshore, resulting in flooding inland and silt building up in the watercourses, further compounding the issue.

The improvements have cleared the debris and reconnected the watercourses with the open coast, allowing the water to freely drain away. The work was designed to ensure that water drains through the reserve area constantly but slowly, allowing it to be filtered naturally and behave much like a sustainable drainage system, before the water eventually finds its way across the green beach and onto the foreshore.

Short and long-term

Cllr Ian Moncur, Sefton Council’s Cabinet Member for Health and Wellbeing said: “Flood risk is a serious issue for residents across the Borough and our officers are dedicated to finding both short and long-term mitigation and solutions to it.

“It’s fantastic to see the delivery of vital improvements like this being delivered by our Green Sefton team.”

Careful steps were taken during the work to ensure that there was no disturbance to existing areas of botanical importance or to any of the ‘special features’ of the Site of Special Scientific Interest, such as the flocks of wading birds or wildfowl that call the foreshore home.

Essential drainage works at Birkdale Hills Local Nature Reserve will also indirectly improve the habitats in ways that will increase opportunities for our insect, amphibian and botanical natives.

You can find advice about flooding on our website.

Partnership and the importance of working together is the underlying theme of a new video and report from Sefton Council’s Public Health service.

Protect and support

Looking back at the COVID-19 pandemic, the new annual report highlights how the Council’s Public Health team worked closely with colleagues in the health sector, Sefton Voluntary Services (CVS), care homes and schools to protect and support people across the Borough.

The video report also highlights the important role played by Sefton’s residents, communities and businesses in protecting each other from COVID.

Quickly adapted

Cllr Ian Moncur, Cabinet Member for Health and Wellbeing said: “This report looks back at the effects of the COVID-19 and the way in which our Public Health team and out partners quickly adapted and found new ways of working with each other to deal with the unprecedented pandemic.

“It is a testament to the dedication of our officers and their colleagues in what they did and continue to do all they could to protect those most vulnerable to the serious and potentially fatal impact of the coronavirus.

“But it is also a tribute to the way in which residents and businesses stepped up and followed the guidance and rules to keep each other safe and shows the strength of community in our Borough.

“Once again I would like to thank everyone across Sefton for all the sacrifices they have made and also to all Council’s and our partners’ hardworking staff who have delivered services to keep us all safe and well during incredibly difficult times.”

Caution

Cllr Moncur said that while the COVID-19 has still not gone away, and the Council is still urging people to ensure they are fully vaccinated and to exercise caution when out and about in busy places.

He added: “COVID-19 presented us with huge challenges but also plenty of valuable lessons in Public Health and right across the Council in how we can work together and as we move forward.”