FENLAND District Council has worked closely with the Environment Agency to take about 40 truck loads of steel off Fenland s roads by making Wisbech Port available for the delivery by ship of steel sheet piling materials for flood defence works on the Rive

FENLAND District Council has worked closely with the Environment Agency to take about 40 truck loads of steel off Fenland's roads by making Wisbech Port available for the delivery by ship of steel sheet piling materials for flood defence works on the River Nene.

The 1,300 tonnes of steel was brought straight to the 'doorstep' of the flood defence works by bringing it up the Nene for storage at Wisbech Port.

The council was delighted with the opportunity to offer an alternative to large lorry loads of steel navigating their way along Wisbech roads. The steel sheet piling will be stored at the harbour and will be delivered in batches to the major works that are about to start in the coming weeks.

The Environment Agency are spending around £7m over the next year on replacing old and corroded flood defences for about a mile and a half of the North Brink, upstream of Town Bridge. Replacing steel sheet piling on North Brink will be the first phase. The Environment Agency is also painting the steel sheet piles for the same distance on the South Brink.

The Environment Agency will also be repairing or replacing more than three miles of flood defence brickwork on both sides of the river, although this work will start late this year or early next year, depending on the weather. The council hopes that it will be possible to move the bricks by river rather than by road when the time comes.

Cllr Mac Cotterell MBE, the portfolio holder with responsibility for port and marine services, said: "We are delighted that the Port of Wisbech was able to provide an environmentally-friendly solution to the delivery of materials for flood defence work and I hope we will be able to offer our services again to the Environment Agency during the next phase of the flood defence works.