More than two years after Whaley Bridge's near-disaster, £15m work finally starts on its ailing dam

Work on a £15m permanent repair to Toddbrook Reservoir in Whaley Bridge has finally begun. More than 1,500 people were evacuated from the Derbyshire town in August 2019 when torrential rain led to fears the dam wall could come crashing down, causing major flooding.

Following a temporary repair that involved Chinook helicopters dropping sandbags onto the breached spillway, the long-awaited permanent repair has started and will last an estimated two years. It was able to start after High Peak Borough Council granted planning permission for the works to Canal & River Trust, which is responsible for the reservoir and 2,000 miles of waterways across England and Wales.

A new overflow structure will be constructed to the north of the dam which involves building a side channel weir, a ‘tumble bay’, a spillway channel and stilling basin which will link into the existing bypass channel flowing into the River Goyt in the town’s Memorial Park at the foot of the dam.

READ MORE: Disaster tourism and a can-do spirit: How Whaley Bridge brushed off a near catastrophe

The concrete panels from the 1970s-built overflow spillway, damaged in the 2019 flooding, will be removed. The dam will then be repaired and grassed over. To make way for the new spillway works, the sailing club will be relocated behind the new tumble bay.

The current clubhouse will be taken down and replaced by a new sailing club slipway, clubhouse, boat storage and car park. Another building close to the works, the former Victorian reservoir-keeper’s house, Toddbrook Lodge, has been acquired by the Canal & River Trust and will initially be used as the site office for the works and will then be preserved.

Over the next few months, the trust and its contractor Kier