Burton flood defence project opens new concourse for public
A new concourse near the library in Burton has been opened for public use by the Environment Agency as part of the town’s £30 million flood defence project.
The concourse will enable better access to the library and nearby public walks to the River Trent.
Work on the project, which will significantly reduce the risk of flooding to 4,500 homes and 1,000 businesses from the River Trent, remains on target to be completed by next spring.
William Groves, a senior flood risk adviser at the Environment Agency, said:
We’re very pleased to open up the area around Burton upon Trent library so people can enjoy the new concourse.
The concourse has a new high quality granite finish and shows how other parts of the town will look when complete.
We do still have some work to complete nearby and grass needs to re-establish, so the whole area isn’t open for now.
Work to renew 3.7km of Burton’s flood defences remains on track to be completed by spring 2021 with many sections under construction and some sections completed.
Along with East Staffordshire Borough Council, we’ve worked to secure government funding to improve the public spaces in the town.
This will enable us to complete further improvements such as paving and creating a wetland and board walk next year.
Notes to editors
The work of the Environment Agency, and their contractors Galliford Try/Black & Veatch, will improve 3.7km of the 9km existing defences, and continues the work carried out in 2007 when other parts of the defences were improved.
The defences are being built to a consistent level.
The defences were first built after flooding in the 1930s and then expanded further in the 1960s after more flooding.