Environment Agency contractors have begun the work which includes replacing an old 30 metre culvert with new piping plus a reinforced box culvert at Lindsay House, Town Foot, and is funded by the Northumbria Regional Flood Defence Committee.

Phase one was completed last year and included strengthening 170 metres of the culvert, from the inlet near Providence Place to Brewery Lane, and from Lee Close to the outfall into the River Coquet at Riverside.

Since the September 2008 floods several improvements to the flood defences in the area have been completed, including:

• The pumping station at Riverside, designed to remove surface water from behind the Riverside flood bank, is back in operation after it flooded in September 2008, and has been raised so it can still be used during flood events.


• Improvements to the upstream trash screens, which filter out debris, and the installation of sediment traps will help reduce blockages inside the new culvert.


• Other works in Rothbury include replacing the steps over the flood bank and installing a new drain on the Riverside access road.

Environment Agency Flood and Coastal Risk Manager Ian Hodge said: "This £500,000 project is designed to make future maintenance of the culvert safer and will accommodate a 20 per cent climate change increase in flood flows.

£Although flood risk from the Coplish Burn is reduced we are not complacent and we'll be looking at ways to reduce flood risk from the River Coquet as well."

"I know some residents are still not back in their homes from the flooding last September and we are working with the parish council to set up a flood warden scheme for the town which will help to build resilience within the community and prepare them for future events."

The Coplish Burn culvert is known locally as the Copletch Burn and flows for 300 metres beneath the town centre before joining the River Coquet at Riverside.

It was originally built in the late 1800s and as it was not designed for today's heavy traffic some parts are in poor condition.

This has led to various collapses over the years, and in some places it is too small to cope with severe flood flows. The Burn was classified a main river in November 2004, which allowed the Environment Agency to use its permissive powers to construct new defences.

Environment Agency contractors Lumsden and Carroll, who completed the phase one works in 2008, are undertaking the phase two works, which are expected to last for another three weeks.