Residents in Hinckley are being invited to a community drop-in session to learn more about Severn Trent’s upcoming £6.3m project to improve river health in the area. 

The works – which will start on 12 June and are expected to be completed by early 2025 – include the laying of over 1.5km of new sewer pipes and installation of a tank capable of holding more than 330,000 litres of water. 

The drop-in will be held at Hinckley Leisure Centre, Argents Mead, Hinckley LE10 1BZ on Wednesday 5 June 2024 between 3.30pm and 6.00pm.

Helen Purdy, Community Communications Officer at Severn Trent, said: “We’ve seen a lot of heavy rain in the last 12 months, and these downpours can cause so much surface water our sewers are overwhelmed.

“This work that we’re undertaking in Hinckley will improve our network and create additional storage for some of this rainwater, which can then be released more slowly into the sewer system.  This will help to cut down the current use of storm overflows and ultimately improve the health of local waterways.” 

Some traffic management – including rolling road closures – will be required during the works at the teams install new sewer pipes. 

Helen continued: “We absolutely understand how frustrating roadworks can be, however they’re necessary to help keep our teams and road users safe while we make these upgrades and we’d like to thank everyone in advance for their patience and understanding. Our team will be working as quickly and safely as possible to ensure that we get everything completed and back to normal just as quickly as we can.” 

As part of the works, the lower car park at Sparkenhoe Business Centre will be closed except for deliveries and for disabled customers. This is while the below ground storage tank is built.  The Business Centre itself will remain open as usual.