City’s flood defences pass first major test

Hereford's new £5.5-million flood defences passed their first major test over the weekend - holding the River Wye at bay and safeguarding nearly 200 local homes. The riverside barrier, together with the new Belmont roundabout, was made possible after Herefordshire Council injected £2 million from a Section 106 planning gain negotiated in the construction of the new Asda supermarket in the city.

The new defences will be officially opened on Friday (11 September 2008) by Councillor John Stone, the chairman of Herefordshire Council, and Paul Keetch MP.

Councillor Brian Wilcox, cabinet member for highways and transportation said: "The new flood alleviation scheme was completed just in time by the Environment Agency - as a result of the council insisting that DEFRA funded the defences within five years of planning permission rather than the ten years originally requested.

"Working with local groups, it was also ensured that the defences fitted in well with the attractive riverside environment and the views and open spaces on King George's Playing Fields and the Bishop's Meadows in the city".

The main part of the flood scheme is a 1.1-metre high wall, reduced from the a 2-metre wall originally proposed, that runs from the old Wye Bridge with slot-in panels to be placed above the wall in times of high floodwater. Other parts of the scheme include earth embankments and a further floodwall running along the southern edge of the playing fields to stop water getting onto Hinton Road.

Herefordshire Council's highways staff and contracting partners Amey worked around the clock over the weekend to deal with major problems caused to the county's roads by heavy rains over the weekend. The council's emergency information line took hundreds of calls from local people after opening at 1.00am Saturday morning and closing at 5.00pm on Sunday afternoon.