Residents can now get a glimpse of what a £76 million flood risk management scheme to protect homes and buildings in Kendal will look like.

Sample flood wall panels have now been installed at Little Aynam in Kendal by the Environment Agency and contractors VBA.

The panels, which are designed to allow people to visualise what the scheme will look like once it is constructed, are set to remain in place throughout the building of the flood scheme.

Once complete it is hoped that the scheme will reduce the risk of flooding to 1,480 homes and 1,100 local businesses across the River Kent catchment.

The installation of these sample flood wall panels was a requirement of the planning conditions set by South Lakeland District Council.

Stewart Mounsey, of the Environment Agency, said: “Residents in Kendal are now able to visit the Little Aynam area to see the different flood wall finishes to get a feel for how the flood defences will look once phase one of the Flood Risk Management Scheme is complete.

“Ground investigation and data gathering works will be continuing in Kendal over the coming weeks, with all work being undertaken in line with Government guidance.”

The scheme has been a source of debate, with Prime Minister Boris Johnson urged to intervene this summer and stop it from going ahead until a “viable alternative” had been considered.

Members of the Kendal Conservatives group expressed concerns at the time that they had over the potential environmental, economy and aesthetic impacts the scheme could cause in the area.

They called for upstream natural flood management installations.

That was followed by a move from the campaign group Save The Heart of Kendal, which delivered a 6,300-signature petition to Downing Street.

The agency said the information being presented against the scheme contained “factual errors.”

Planning permission for Phase One of the agency’s flood risk management scheme was granted in 2019 and it will be hoped that, once completed, it will help to limit or avoid the devastation which was seen in the flooding caused by Storm Desmond in 2015.

For more information about the Kendal Flood Scheme, where it will be and its aims, visit the flood hub online at: https://thefloodhub.co.uk/kendal