A new flood alleviation scheme that will protect 115 homes and businesses in Hereford was given full approval by Herefordshire Council’s planning committee today (Friday 23 October 2009).
Proposed by ESG Herefordshire, the scheme is an essential part of the plans to improve the infrastructure in the city, making possible the new leisure attractions, jobs, homes and shops that will revitalise Hereford.
The scheme will save nearly £3 million a year in repairing damage to property, and many parts of the city will see an end to flooding misery – including the A49 at Edgar Street and the A438 at Whitecross Road, as well as the Merton Meadow car part and the county hospital car park.
Members of the planning committee heard that many areas currently used to annual flooding would see their risk of flooding transformed to ‘once in a thousand years’. The scheme will particularly benefit residents around Millbrook Street, Nolan Road and Edgar Street.
A two-metre diameter underground culvert, following the natural contours of the landscape, will divert water from the Yazor Brook at Credenhill to the River Wye, when water levels reach a trigger point. The water will travel through the mile-long culvert before joining the River Wye south east of Old Weir Farm.
Grills at both ends will prevent the scheme becoming blocked, Maintenance manholes will be included and the flow of water through the culvert will be digitally monitored.
Extensive research into historical water flows and depths was undertaken and several ‘worst case scenarios’ where analysed using computer modelling. Planners demonstrated, using detailed maps of Hereford, how high flood risk areas will move into ‘one in a hundred year’, and ‘one in a thousand year’ risk ratings once the work is complete. As part of the consultation for the scheme, the Environment Agency were generally supportive and stated that the ‘scheme aims to deliver not only a flood risk solution for the ESG site but also offers flood risk protection benefits for the wider community of Hereford”.
Lessons were also learned from the council’s successful flood alleviation scheme on Hereford’s south side of the River Wye and the new flood scheme at Ross-on-Wye.
Advantage West Midlands also supported the scheme. As part of the ESG development, the agency is making a major investment into the area in partnership with Herefordshire Council.
Agricultural land and scattered properties up stream of the flood alleviation scheme will also benefit.
Members of the committee voted in favour of the application, subject to planning officers receiving no further objections to the amended plans.
Speaking after the planning decision, chief executive of ESG Herefordshire, Jonathan Bretherton, said: “I know from talking to a lot of local people that the threat of flooding is a major worry to them, and this news will provide welcome peace of mind for many households in the city, as well as underpinning the proposals to revitalise Hereford”.