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Severn Trent Water is investing £7.6M in Leamington town centre to upgrade over 2.2km of the sewerage network to increase the capacity of the sewer system and reduce the risk of flooding in the town. In addition the sewer relief system will be upgraded to reduce pollution of the River Leam. Work started in September 2010 and will conclude in spring 2012.

Many of the sewers in Leamington town centre date back to Victorian times and are unable to meet the demands of today’s urban society. To meet these demands they need to be replaced with larger and more robust systems. This will reduce the risk of flooding from the town’s sewers. This is not the first time that similar works have been carried out. Since I moved to the area in 1984 there have been at least two major schemes of sewer enlargement and pollution prevention.

An essential part of the new system will be constructed in the Parade, a busy and popular shopping street in the town centre Conservation Area. Before Severn Trent can start these works, they need to divert existing gas and water mains which obstruct the proposed new sewers, and also replace old brittle mains which are nearing the end of their serviceable life. These works form Phase 1 of the scheme.

Work started on 10 January 2011. The diversion of the water mains in three locations took four weeks to complete. The diversion and replacement of the gas mains on both sides of the Parade is more complex and was expected to take around five months to complete. Works are still under way at the time of writing, July 2011.

(paraphrased from the large site notice in Euston Place Gardens, see SP3165 : Explanatory sign, Euston Place Gardens)