Yorkshire Water has completed its £1m scheme to reduce the risk of sewer flooding in Skipton.

Engineering specialists Mott MacDonald Bentley had been working since early January to reduce the risk of sewer flooding to 13 homes.

A huge storage tank, capable of holding 1,200,000 litres of storm water during wet weather, has been constructed in the Coach Street car park. It is 15 metres in diameter and 10 metres deep.

The project faced many difficulties as the shaft was built in half of one of the town’s main car parks. It was a small working area and ground conditions were very problematic, with the team finding foundations of old buildings under the ground.

This meant workers had to hand-dig which slowed progress down.

They also came across numerous cables from other services that were not found in the original investigations, which had to be relocated.

“We know this scheme has been disruptive to customers and businesses at times, but it was an extremely important scheme,” said project manager Dominic Cunney.

“We’re pleased to annou-nce that it is now complete.

“The risk of sewer flooding to local homes has been significantly reduced and we’d like to thank residents and businesses for their continued patience throughout this work.”

During the project, the company funded a ‘park and ride’ system for Skipton’s Waterways Festival, which transported 3,712 people to the town centre.

And, after finding out that teachers from local primary school St Stephen’s were bringing children to have a look at site, Yorkshire Water organised a poster competition for the youngsters.