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Severn Trent is to hold a community drop-in session before starting a £1.5m project to upgrade sewers in Hinckley.

The company is inviting local people to find out more about the scheme which will see brand new sewers built to help prevent flooding in the Leicester Road area of the town.

James Arkesden, who is leading the project for Severn Trent, explains: “This is a really important project for people in Hinckley as our work will protect a number of homes that are currently at risk of sewer flooding.

“At the moment, when there’s heavy rainfall, several homes are at risk and the scheme will increase the capacity of our sewers to greatly reduce the chance of anyone being affected by flooding in the future.

“We’ll be working in the area for several months and want to make sure everyone is aware of our plans. That’s why we’re holding the drop-in session to give local residents the opportunity to find out more and ask any questions they may have.”

The drop-in session will take place at Hinckley Golf Club on Tuesday 7 March from 2pm to 7pm.

Before Severn Trent can begin work on the sewer, National Grid will divert several short sections of their gas main along part of Leicester Road.

“We’ve been working closely with National Grid and the local council to plan this project and to make sure as little disruption is caused as possible,” said James.

“National Grid also needs to carry out some additional work beneath Leicester Road to upgrade their gas pipes so, to ensure the road doesn’t need to be closed again in the near future, they’ll carry out that work while we’ve got the road closed.

“Our contractors from NMCNomenca will also be working six days a week to help us complete the project more quickly, and we’ve planned the work to take place at least partly during the school holidays when roads are quieter.”

Severn Trent will begin work in Island Close on Monday 27 March, and will move on to Leicester Road on Monday 10 April, which will be closed at the junction of Stoneygate Drive and Bradgate Road and at the junction with Spa Lane and Highfields Road during the project with a diversion for traffic and local buses in place.

James added: “This is a big project for Hinckley and we expect to complete our work within five months.

“The nature of the scheme means that we do need to close Leicester Road to allow our engineers to work safely, but we’ll work as quickly and effectively as possible to complete the project and return the area to normal.

“We’re investing a large amount in this area of Hinckley and we hope everyone will understand the benefits this will have for the future.”

For more information and updates during the project visit Planned Improvements | In My Area | Severn Trent Water (stwater.co.uk).