£6m permanent flood defences planned for River Severn in Bewdley
Homes and businesses in Bewdley affected by flooding are set to have added protection with a new £6.2 million permanent defence.
Flooding Minister Rebecca Pow was due to visit Beales Corner on Tuesday to announce the scheme, which would replace the temporary flood barriers currently in place.
It would also better protect around 31 homes at Beales Corner and more than 150 businesses from flooding from the River Severn once completed.
Storm Dennis ripped through the region on February 15 to 16 last year, but it was the week that followed where the real damage was caused in Wyre Forest.
On the evening of February 25, the River Severn flowed over the barriers in the Beales Corner area – leaving homes and cars flooded, residents stuck in their homes and businesses forced to close.
Fridges and sofas could be seen floating in the water, while residents living off Kidderminster Road had piled sand bags in front of their doors in an attempt to stop water coming into their properties.
At the time, police said about 38 properties in the Beales Corner area were affected and a number of residents were rescued by fire crews – including one woman in her 70s.
And in January this year, the residents faced further misery as they battled the floods for a second time in just over a year when Storm Christoph hit. Homes and businesses were left submerged after the river breached flood barriers at Beales Corner on January 22.
A further £4.5m will be invested in smaller projects within the Severn Valley to help tackle flooding in the long term, using natural flood management techniques such as floodplain reconnection, wetland creation, woody debris dams and woodland planting to 'slow the flow' of water upstream of Shrewsbury.
Ms Pow said: "Flooding is a devastating experience as people in Bewdley know only too well.
"The new Beales Corner scheme, combined with flood alleviation projects further up the Severn Valley, will help significantly reduce the risk of flooding in this area in future.
“It is just one part of our wider action on flooding supported by our commitment of a record-breaking £5.2 billion across England between now and 2027, to better protect hundreds of thousands more homes.”
Emma Howard Boyd, chair of the Environment Agency, said: “I know from meeting members of the community in Bewdley that flooding here is a constant worry.
“The Environment Agency has made progress in tackling flooding in the Severn Valley and a permanent defence at Beales Corner, as well as schemes further upstream to slow water flow, will help better protect homes and businesses.
“But, with climate change bringing more extreme weather, people need to be vigilant. I strongly urge people to sign up for flood warnings and regularly check flood risk on gov.uk.”
Up to £10m will also be used to support the development of the Severn Valley Water Management scheme. This is a programme of measures and interventions across the upper Severn catchment to manage water and reduce flood risk to communities in the Severn Valley.
It will identify a mixture of wide-scale land use change, nature-based interventions and engineered solutions, working with landowners and partners across the catchment.
Funding for this scheme is being made available through the Government’s £170m economic recovery funding package, announced last year, aimed at accelerating work on flood defence schemes across England.
