Burton Flood Risk Management Scheme Information

Overview

Updated 11 July 2022

The Flood Risk Management Scheme is now complete.

The scheme reduced the flood risk to over 4500 homes and 1000 businesses.

The Burton.FRMS email is now no longer being monitored. For enquiries about the scheme, please contact enquiries_westmids@environment-agency.gov.uk referencing Burton FRMS

This page will no longer be updated and close by 31 December 2022 

Background

Burton is entwined with the River Trent, its history is fundamentally linked to the river and its growth has depended on it.

Before the defences were built flood events regularly impacted on Burton.

Approximately 9km of defences; walls, embankments and high ground, first built as a result of the 1932 floods, currently protect Burton. Without these defences the town would regularly experience flooding.

On 17 February 2020, when the water level was at its highest, the defences stood firm. The photo below shows how the water reached up to the flood defences by Meadowside Leisure Centre and the library.

It was a reminder of how important it is to have good defences protecting Burton.

We last improved parts of the defences in 2005-07, known as ‘Phase 1’ of the current programme of works.

We have now completed phase 2, upgrading the rest of the defences, not tackled in 2005-07, and tying into phase 1, so that Burton has a single set of defences at the same level. The current works amount to about 3.7km of defence work.

The figure below shows red lines on the locations where we have improved the defences, not including the A38 works, which is refered to seperately later on.

Our objectives for the Burton Flood Risk Management project were:

• To improve flood defences for over 4,500 homes and 1000 businesses
• To provide additional environmental improvements- work with partners, such as East Staffordshire Borough Council, to help achieve more than just flood defences
• Engage with the town and it’s communities to educate them about the flood risk and the defences - highlighting that the river is at the heart of this community

What we have done

We improved the quality of the defences currently already protecting Burton from river flooding.
Part of the current defences were at the end of their life span. If we didn’t improve the defences they could have ‘breached’ and cause parts of Burton to flood. 
The photos below show erosion to the previous embankment at Regatta Lane allotments, caused by high foot fall and the same location now the work has been completed.

Before

After

The scheme provides Burton with a better level of protection from the River Trent.

The main aim of this scheme is to improve the quality of the flood defences by using better material, such as sheet piling (driving metal plates into the ground) where required or replacing the current embankment with a clay core embankment. The method of construction is dependent on what was already in place and what space we have to work with.

Project funding

Costs were approximately £28 million. The scheme was funded by flood defence grant in aid  Local Levy funding support and funding from Greater Birmingham Local Enterprise Partnership.

Timescales

We started construction in June 2019. After the 2020 flooding we identified a further area of concerns along the A38, this work was added to the wider scheme. We completed this final element of the scheme in June 2022.

Opening Event

We celebrated the completion of the main scheme with a small scale Covid friendly opening event in July 2021.

The plaque commemorating the opening event on the new flood wall by the library

We have erected 3 information boards along the line of the defences. They each describe the history of flooding and of the flood defences in Burton and inform residents about the work carried out to upgrade the defences over recent years. (Please note image shows 1 of the boards twice, to illustrate it's location - there are 3 boards in total.)

A38 works

As mentioned above, the 2020 flooding of 18 properties and the A38 identified concerns for flooding to 300 properties (in extreme flood events) in the area by Branston Water Park off the A38. After initial investigation in 2020 we developed a solution that could be delivered by the contractors delivering our main Burton scheme.

The work aimed to contain flood water backing up from the River Trent in the Tatenhill Brook channel and stops this then flowing back up the highways drainage system, STWs drainage system and overtopping onto the A38. This have been achieved using a combination of sheet piled walls, embankments and non-return valves.

We started construction in June 2021 and completed the work in June 2022

Environmental improvements -Washlands Strategy

We have supported East Staffordshire Borough Council (ESBC) in successfully securing £3m from Greater Birmingham Local Enterprise Partnership. This enabled additional public realm enhancements beyond the scope of the flood defence works around the library and leisure centre area.

More information about the vision can be found on: www.eaststaffsbc.gov.uk/washlands-project 

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