Beales Corner, Bewdley, Flood Risk Management Scheme

Overview

Page created February 2021. Last updated 11 May 2023.

*Project Update*

May 2023

The planning consent was submitted on 16.12.2022 and was granted on 14.2.2023. The planning documents can be found here: 22/1034/FUL.

In February, we removed trees and vegetation along the waterfront by Beales Corner to help enable the works to start later in the year. New tree planting will be undertaken to mitigate for the lost trees, and we will be looking at ways to involve the community in this plan.

The project is moving forward, and we now anticipate that work will begin in late summer/early autumn 2023. There will be a drop-in event in summer to update the community on the scheme and the likely impacts from the construction phase. Further details will be announced on this when available.

Flooding in Beales Corner

Bewdley is subject to significant flood risk from the River Severn and has flooded a number of times. The most significant flood events have been in 1947, 1965, 1998, 2000, 2002, 2004, 2008, 2014, 2020 and 2021. During the most recent events (2020, 2021 and 2022) some homes and businesses were flooded.

These flood events impact on people’s homes, businesses and the local economy. Transport links and commuter routes through the town are also affected. 

Background to the flood risk management scheme

Over the years a number of technical assessments have taken place to explore the possibility of a flood defence scheme at Beales Corner in Bewdley.

Unfortunately a Flood Risk Management Scheme has not been viable previously.  To date, measures, such as the temporary flood barriers and Property Level Resilience measures (e.g. flood gates, pumps and air brick covers for individual properties) have reduced the impact of flooding. However we recognise the limitations these solutions offer.

After the flooding in 2020, more funding was made available from Government for flood schemes nationally. This allowed us to re-look at options for a permanent Flood Risk Management Scheme for the area.

We are now developing a Flood Risk Management Scheme for the area. We are currently looking at options, carrying out ground investigations and talking with the community to help shape our thinking.  

On the 27^th of July 2021 Minister Pow visited Bewdley and we are delighted to say that during this visit it was announced that Government has allocated £6.2m of growth funding for the Bewdley Left Bank Flood Risk Management scheme.

This made the possibility of a scheme more viable. There are still risks to delivery that the Project Team needs to work through, such as securing planning consent, all historic consents and managing the large number of utilities that are located along the potential alignment of any raised defence. However, the Environment Agency together with all partners are committed to driving forward the delivery of this project.

Proposed scheme details

We undertook a range of community engagement events from March to November 2022. We have noted the feedback from these events and we considered how we amend the design accordingly where possible. We plan to organise a further series of sessions in summer 2023.

The team initially explored a long list of flood risk reduction options like attenuation and channel improvements as well as raised flood defence options. The final and most viable option consists of a combination of demountable flood barriers and permanent raised walls with glass panels on top to maintain views across the river.

The photos below show the approximate alignment and extent of the proposed demountable defences by the Quayside and gives an artist impression of what the defences may look like on other sections of the scheme.

The design aims for this scheme are to:

• Reduce flood risk to people, properties, businesses, and highways resulting from overtopping of the River Severn
• Deliver a flood risk management scheme that is supported by the local community
• Integrate with and where possible enhance the natural environment, biodiversity and heritage value of the area
• Design and develop a scheme which has minimal operational and maintenance requirements
• Provide the same standard of protection as provided by the Severnside flood defence on the right bank.
• Ensure the bridge remains open during flooding, benefiting the entire community of Bewdley.

   

We aim to make best possible use of the public money available and seek to maximise funding available through working in partnership.

The primary purpose of the scheme is to reduce the flood risk from the River Severn. Although it is not focussed on flood risk from drainage issues, we are working with Severn Trent Water and the local authorities to review these.

Timescales – what we are doing and when

Over the coming months we will focus on:

• Development and approval of the Full Business Case
• Public Engagement in early summer 2023
• Aim to start utility diversions in summer 2023
• Anticipated start of construction in late summer/early autumn 2023

The public engagement meeting in early summer will focus on the construction phase of the scheme, outlining what the construction program is likely to be as well as the levels of disturbance to the town.

It is inevitable that there will be a need for temporary site and clearance works to allow the contractors to work safely. There is also likely to be road closures and traffic control. We want to use this session to talk through details of any disturbance during construction and can assure you that we will be keeping this as low as we can. This is all subject to having the Final Business Case approved. 

Previous project updates

February 2023

The planning application was submitted for the proposed scheme December 2022. The planning documents can be found here: 22/1034/FUL. We are hoping to receive planning permission in the coming weeks.

The ambition is for the main construction phase to begin in  late summer/early autumn of 2023. From the 13 February we shall start the next phase of work that will enable the main construction works in the summer. This work is to remove trees and vegetation along the waterfront by Beales Corner and divert electricity and BT utilities. Once the scheme is completed new tree planting will be undertaken by the Environment Agency to mitigate for the lost trees.

• A road closure on Stourport Road from the entrance to Millside Court to the junction with Kidderminster Road;
• Two-way traffic lights on the Kidderminster Road (B4109) on the bridge ramp on the left bank of the River Severn

This traffic management will be in place for approximately three weeks from 13 February 2023. The Environment Agency understands the disruptions of traffic management and takes the impact that these works will have on businesses and properties very seriously. For this reason we have combined the tree removal works and the utilities diversion works to all be undertaken at the same time to minimise future impacts and avoid peak times like the Easter holidays.

December 2022

The planning application was submitted on 16 December 2022. All planning documents including the Flood Risk Assessment will be viewable on the Wyre Forest District Council planning portal once fully registered.

The team has had positive and productive meetings with the utility providers.

We have developed a good working relationship with the utility providers who will be undertaking vital service diversions ahead of the scheme.

October 2022

The Environment Agency held a drop-in event to update residents on progress on Beales Corner Flood Risk Management Scheme on Tuesday 18 October 2022.

The event was very well attended. We had 200 people through the door and over 50 people asked to be added to our mailing list.

In general residents were really pleased to see our progress and the changes we made  to the scheme following our last consultation in April.

We have taken away a number of comments and questions and over coming months we will consider if and how we can incorporate any further changes to the scheme in response to the suggestions made.  

A Frequently Asked Question document was shared on the day and is available at the bottom of this page.  This will be updated over the coming month with further answers to questions raised during the drop-in session.

If you missed the session, you can still contact us with any questions and comments through BLBFRMS@environment-agency.gov.uk.

September 2022

In September we received confirmation that the Outline Business Case had been approved. This is an integral part of project development and means that the project can progress through the planning application stage.

July 2022

We have been engaging with various stakeholders, including Wyre Forest District Council, Worcestershire County Council, Historic England and Natural England to prepare for the submission of the planning application. We will let the community know as and when the planning application is ready for submission.

We have also been engaging with utility companies about utilities which may be affected by our scheme. It is highly likely that we will need to undertake several utility alterations before being able to build the flood risk management scheme.

We have started engaging with the community, with a drop in event and a series of community meetings in the spring of 2022. We were pleased to see how well attended these sessions were. The photo below shows residents talking with our team at one of the community drop-in sessions in March

An online ‘Virtual room’ consultation was also made available to the community throughout May and June. 

We would like to take this opportunity to say thank you to all the residents and partners who took part in these engagement sessions.

We will continue to engage with the community in the autumn 2022. 

  Previous Updates

Temporary barrier post incident review at Bewdley

Following the flood incident in February 2021 we completed our Post Incident Review for the Beales Corner Temporary Barrier System in August 2021 and shared our findings with the public.

The full report is available at the bottom of this page, alongside a letter to residents which provides a summary and explanation of the findings. New measures recommended by the review during the recent high flows on 11 December 2021 and again in February 2022.

Sharing information with you

We want to make sure that the community is engaged with the project and kept informed of progress.

We will provide you with further information about the scheme in the following ways:

• Our online information page

• Information displayed on Town Council website

• Regular newsletters (at key project points) issued via email, please see how to sign up below.

• Virtual or face to face meetings at key project points

• We are also happy to attend any community meetings we are invited to

Signing up to our newsletter

It is important to us to keep you up to date on our progress with this scheme. If you would like to receive our newsletter and updates, please email your contact details to BLBFRMS@environment-agency.gov.uk

Alternatively, you call our National Customer Contact Centre during office hours on 03708 506 506 and we will add you to our mailing list.

PLEASE NOTE- By providing us with your contact details you consent to the Environment Agency using the details provided to contact you with updates about the Beales Corner Flood Risk Management Scheme.

We will keep your contact details until the project is closed or until you withdraw your consent, whichever is sooner. You can withdraw your consent to receive these updates at any time by emailing us at BLBFRMS@environment-agency.gov.uk or calling 03708 506 506.

We will not share your details with any other third party without your explicit consent, unless we are required to by law. The Environment Agency is the data controller for the personal data you provide. For further information on how we deal with your personal data please see our Personal Information Charter on GOV.UK (search 'Environment Agency personal information charter') or contact our Data Protection team. Address: Data Protection team, Environment Agency, Horizon House, Deanery Road, Bristol, BS1 5AH. Email: dataprotection@environment-agency.gov.uk

You can follow us on Twitter too at @EnvAgencyMids as we will be tweeting about the work we are doing on this scheme.

Remaining flood aware

Please make sure you remain flood aware and ensure you are signed up to our flood warning service. Visit www.gov.uk/sign-up-for-flood-warnings or call 0345 988 1188 to sign up to get Flood Alerts and Warnings by phone, email and/or text message. This is a free service. Alternatively contact our Flood Resilience Engagement Advisors at Floodresilience@environment-agency.gov.uk

Know what to do when you receive a flood warning - use the 3 point plan.

Thank you for visiting our information page. Please keep visiting this page as we will be updating it regularly. This page will be open to the public until the end of construction.

If you have any feedback about this page, or use assistive technology (such as a screen reader) and need a version of any document in a more accessible format, please email BLBFRMS@environment-agency.gov.uk or call our National Customer Contact Centre on 03708 506 506.

Please tell us what format you need. It will help us if you say what assistive technology you use.