The flood gates in Yarm which reduce the risk of flooding from the River Tees are to be replaced following a review by the Environment Agency.

The Environment Agency maintains 1.3km of flood wall in the town, which protects over 500 homes and businesses and is intersected with a series of public access and residential flood gates that maintain access to the river from public areas and some residential gardens, but can be closed if flooding is forecast.

The review, which was carried out to ensure the town's defences continued to offer the best possible protection for the whole community, started in February and considered whether residential gates should be replaced or removed in favour of a continuous flood wall.

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Simon Wilson, from the Environment Agency's Flood and Coastal Risk Management team in the North East, said: "Our absolute priority for this project has been to secure the best possible flood protection for Yarm. We considered various options such as providing new flood gates or replacing floodgates with walls, and how the different options would impact all local people.

"Each of the residential gates located on an individual’s property is unique, just like each of the homeowners’ needs are unique, so we spoke personally with all of the affected homeowners to understand their requirements and discuss the operation of the gate on their property.

"We have listened to residents and they have played a key role in helping us to make a decision which is right for the individual residents as well as the wider community."