Work is due to start this week on a £700,000 drainage project in Ystalyfera which will reduce the flood risk to residents of the Varteg Estate and also benefit the surrounding community.

With funding from the Welsh Government, the project will involve work to the Glan Yr Afon Culvert in Ystalyfera to stop surface water backing up in Varteg Road during periods of high rainfall.

The scheme, scheduled to start on Monday, August 23rd, will take around ten weeks to complete with approximately 140 metres of new pipework being installed.

It will involve tree and shrub removal to accommodate a new culvert pipe and a number of access chambers will be built to help future maintenance and inspection.

The existing culvert will also be cleansed, surveyed and repaired where necessary in order to maintain its structural integrity.

Throughout the construction process, the council and its contractors, Jones Brothers (Henllan) Ltd, will try to minimise disruption to local residents as much as possible but some temporary disruption will unfortunately be inevitable.

Cllr Mike Harvey, Neath Port Talbot Council’s Cabinet Member for Streetscene and Engineering, said: “The scheme in Varteg Road, where a number of surface flooding incidents have been experienced in recent years, is part of the council’s ongoing flood mitigation measures across the county borough being carried out in partnership with the Welsh Government.

“The Welsh Government’s Flood and Coastal Erosion Risk Management (FCERM) strategy, which Neath Port Talbot Council is helping to deliver locally, provides a long term vision of how we can better protect and prepare homes and businesses from flooding and coastal erosion across Wales.”