Permanent flood barriers for sodden Bewdley 'must not be rushed' - MP
New permanent flood defences in Bewdley must not be rushed despite the flooding that has tormented townspeople once again, an MP has said.
Wyre Forest MP Mark Garnier described the situation in the town this week as heartbreaking after water poured through the temporary flood defences on Beales Corner and submerged streets.
Water levels peaked at 5.34 metres on Wednesday - 30 centimetres below the record - after dozens of people were evacuated as the barriers were overwhelmed. The 'danger to life' warning for the town was still in place on Thursday.
Similar scenes have been playing out up and down the River Severn after it flooded for the third successive year, prompting calls for a long-term solution from the Government.
But Mr Garnier stressed that the installation of barriers by the Environment Agency – through a £6.1 million project – needed to be done right and not rushed.
The Conservative MP said: "We have to get this right, because if they don't it's going to be quite problematic.
"I want the Environment Agency to get it right first time, and putting them under pressure, and putting speed over durability, is not the way to do it.
"We have to let them have the time and space to do what they need to do. We're going to get this right first time and end people's misery."
Mr Garnier said the scenes in Wribbenhall, Bewdley, over the last few days were "just awful" and heartbreaking, but added it was a "big engineering project" to install the barriers.
Currently temporary structures are installed by the Environment Agency when there is a threat of flooding.
Issues faced by the agency around the side of Beales Corner include it being the less-structured bank of the river, with work to level out the road expected to be required.
The barriers – likely to be a combination of permanent flood walls and demountable barriers like the opposite bank – will need to go across the road.
It means the work to install the defences will impact on the area's vital services including gas, electricity, water and telephone connections which run along the highway and over the bridge.
Further issues exist relating to Pewterers Alley with another major issue in that temporary flood barriers can't be used when work is under way – meaning it can only start when water levels are low and during the summer period.
Mr Garnier said the Environment Agency had to plan "very very carefully" and the project had to be "sensibly driven", with the proposals including a wall with a possibility of glass, as is used in Upton-on-Severn.
The MP said the permanent flood defences would protect around 30 homes, with the cost being £6.1m – making it more expensive per property than previous flood defences, introduced under then Prime Minister Tony Blair, which was around £11m to protect around 270 homes.
He said the Government understood a "blighted home is a blighted home life" and that Prime Minister Boris Johnson had met his promises to "get Bewdley done".
"It's credit where credit is due, Boris has delivered 100 per cent. It's down to him and the minister Rebecca Pow, they've delivered for Bewdley unquestionably," Mr Garnier said over the new flood defences.
"But we need to get this right. The last thing we want is to spend that money and the properties still flood. We want to get this right first time – and it will allow people to go away during the winter months without them worrying if their property will be flooded when they come back."
