Environment Minister, John Griffiths, has officially opened Abergele’s new flood defence alleviation scheme.

The £2 million project will protect 223 homes and businesses in the North Welsh town.

The investment forms part of a larger Welsh Government programme of work, which is driving investment of more than £100 million and is supported by almost £50 million from the European Regional Development Fund.

Speaking ahead of the event the Minister said: "Abergele is an excellent example of an area where our investment has been prioritised to reduce risk to a vulnerable community. We are taking action to deliver the things that make a difference to people, their family and community, now and in the future.

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"However, even the best defence in the world will not protect against every flood. We need to understand that there will be residual risks faced by any community and identify actions to reduce the impact of any flooding. This means raising awareness of the risks and improving our emergency response.

"In November last year we launched our National Strategy for Flood and Coastal Erosion Risk Management. This strategy seeks to reduce the consequences of flooding, raise awareness of flooding, respond effectively to flooding and prioritise our investments."

The Abergele project was built in two phases. The first of these, completed in 2011, was the installation of a bypass culvert underneath Ffordd y Morfa to provide additional flow capacity during heavy rainfall.

The second phase involved construction of flood walls along the river between Gele Park and the new bypass culvert.

One of the main environmental improvements to the existing flood defence was the removal of the weir upstream of Market St Bridge. It was replaced by a rock ramp which allows fish to migrate upstream. In addition to this approximately 100m of coir rolls have been installed along the river banks and a community orchard will be created in Gele Park.

(CD)