The Environment Agency has started construction on the £13 million Skinningrove Flood Alleviation Scheme in partnership with Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council. In the government announcement, the agency says the works are designed as a long-term response to flooding from Skinningrove Beck and are due to complete in 2028. The scheme is presented as both flood risk infrastructure and a practical access intervention. The Environment Agency says more than 100 homes should benefit, with the stated aim of reducing the repeated disruption experienced by residents living with the village’s existing flood defences.
At present, flood protection in this part of Skinningrove depends on manually operated flood gates and demountable parapets at Stone Row Bridge. Those measures are used when high water levels are forecast, but the Environment Agency states that the beck can rise quickly and with limited warning. That operating model has direct consequences for households beyond the bridge. When the defences are closed, vehicle access for residents of Zetland Row and Grove Hill can be cut off for extended periods, meaning the emergency response itself can also interrupt day-to-day movement.
The approved scheme is intended to remove that dependence on manual intervention. Stone Row Bridge, together with its flood gates and parapets, is to be demolished and replaced by a new bridge between New Company Row and Zetland Row, beside the Riverside Building, the village’s former school. The Environment Agency says the new bridge deck will sit above the height of the existing flood walls, so no flood gates will be required. Andrew Turner, the agency’s Flood Risk Operations Manager, has also said the higher crossing should reduce the risk of debris blocking the watercourse during heavy rainfall. In practical terms, the proposal changes the village from an operationally managed defence arrangement to fixed infrastructure intended to keep 24-hour vehicle access available regardless of conditions in the beck.
The approval route is clear from the published timetable. Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council granted planning permission in February 2026, allowing the project to move from design and engagement into construction. The government announcement identifies the work as a £13 million scheme delivered with the Environment Agency, although it does not set out the funding split between partners in the published text. The implementation sequence is set out in detail. Work on the new bridge is scheduled from September 2026 to late 2027, including piled foundations and abutments on both sides of the beck before the structure is lifted into place by crane. That order shows how the scheme is being delivered: consent first, new infrastructure second, and removal of the existing crossing only once the replacement is ready.
A second phase is due to run from December 2027 into early 2028, when Stone Row Bridge will be demolished and the existing flood walls infilled. Taken together, the two phases show a controlled handover rather than a single demolition-led programme, which matters in a location where access arrangements are part of the policy problem the scheme is trying to solve. The Environment Agency has also said a temporary access road will be provided for Grove Hill residents during construction. That is a material detail for implementation, because temporary access arrangements often determine whether major flood and highways works remain workable for affected communities during a long build period.
Construction management measures are set out with similar specificity. The main compound and storage area will be located on the recreation ground between Mill Lane and the brook, and the Environment Agency recognises that this will mean a temporary closure of the play park. Its stated position is that the park will be restored with improved equipment once the works are complete. BAM is carrying out the construction. The published controls include working hours of 0800–1800 from Monday to Friday and 0800–1300 on Saturdays, no works on Sundays or public holidays, large deliveries scheduled outside school hours, and environmental plans covering noise and vibration throughout the build.
The project also includes a community engagement element beyond the engineering works. The new bridge railings are due to feature artwork by Mick Kirkby-Geddes, with five designs based on local themes including bonfires, murals and statues, mining, the coast, fisheries and wildflowers. The Environment Agency has opened a public vote through its Engagement HQ platform to select the final design. As a delivery model, the Skinningrove scheme shows the main components of a local flood alleviation project in practice: partnership between a national agency and a local authority, planning consent, phased civil engineering, temporary mitigation for residents during construction, and a stated long-term objective of stronger flood protection with more reliable access for the community.