EMERGENCY sewer repairs and culvert strengthening work is being carried out in Ilkley to prevent sewerage discharging into the River Wharfe.

A section of Bridge Lane in Ilkley has been closed for the major works to repair the culvert which was damaged by the Boxing Day floods.

It was originally scheduled to take place later in the year when the road would be quieter, but unfortunately this work has had to be brought forward due to a fracture in the Yorkshire Water sewer which runs under the culvert. This is causing a problem because water which runs in the beck is now running into the sewer system and impacting the sewer network.

The work will include a full reconstruction and strengthening of the culvert which carries the beck under Bridge Lane and repairs to the damaged sewer.

The work started on Monday and is expected to take around five weeks to complete. There is a signed diversion route in place and access to properties will be maintained.

A Bradford Council spokesperson said: “We are working with Yorkshire Water and the Environment Agency to carry out these repairs. We had scheduled the work to take place later in the year when the road would not be as busy with people wanting to use the park, but unfortunately this has had to be brought forward. We would like to apologise to residents in advance for the inconvenience caused by this essential work.”

A Yorkshire Water spokesperson said: "We'd like to thank the local residents for their patience whilst Bradford Council undertake these works to fix the culvert. The collapsed culvert has damaged our sewer and is resulting in the beck being diverted into our network. We’re working in partnership with Bradford Council and the Environment Agency to get these works finished as soon as possible to avoid unnecessary disruption to local residents."

The Environment Agency's Environment Management Team Leader, Mark West said: “Environment Agency officers have carried out extensive investigations after receiving reports of discharge of storm sewage into the River Wharfe from Ilkley sewage treatment works.

“Working in partnership with Yorkshire Water we discovered that a hole in the road at Bridge Lane, Ilkley, was caused by a collapsed culvert, which is likely to have occurred during the recent winter floods. The collapse of the culvert carrying the beck (which runs behind the houses on Middleton Road and Lister Street) caused the blocking of the water course.

“The pressure of the build-up of water in the culvert led to water infiltrating a sewage pipe below. This, combined with extra input from the street storm drains, hugely increased the flow of water into the sewage works. As is often the case in periods of heavy rainfall, there was some overflow into the river.

“We would like to complement Yorkshire Water on the time and effort they have put into resolving this. It wasn’t an easy task to find where the pipe had been infiltrated. They have been cooperative and hard-working.”

Anyone needing information about these works can contact Bradford Council on 01274 431000.