Nation’s biggest inland flood defence opened in Nottingham
Owen Paterson unveils a plaque to mark the opening of the Nottingham flood defence scheme.
A new £45 million flood defence, which will protect more inland properties than any other in England, was opened today in Nottingham by Environment Secretary Owen Paterson.
Stretching along a 27 kilometre stretch of the River Trent, from Sawley to Colwick, the flood defence will protect 16,000 homes and businesses, as well as roads and factories at the heart of the communities.
The flood defence has been funded by Defra and built by the Environment Agency, working closely with the local community, Nottingham City Council, Natural England and other local partners.
Environment Secretary Owen Paterson said:
“This is a great example of the Government’s commitment to improve flood defences. Our investment here will bring much relief to 16,000 homes and businesses - more than any other inland flood defence in the country.
“We’re doing all we can to protect people from the devastating effects of flooding and now expect to beat our goal to better protect 145,000 households across the country by March 2015.”
Chairman of the Environment Agency, Lord Chris Smith said:
“Nottingham has a long history of flooding so the completion of this scheme will bring much needed relief to the people who live and work along the Trent. Protecting 16,000 properties along 27 kilometres of the Trent, the Nottingham left bank scheme is also the largest inland flood scheme that Environment Agency has ever completed. In the four years to 2015 the Environment Agency will have reduced the flood risk to over 145,000 households across England.”
Nottingham has a history of flooding dating back to 1683. The flooding that took place in 1947 affected 28 miles of road, 3,000 properties and 86 factories in the city centre.
Nottingham flood alleviation scheme
The Nottingham Left Bank Scheme is the biggest individual inland flood defence scheme ever built in terms of properties protected. The defences cover the following areas:
- Sawley and Trent Meadows - the defences reduce the flood risk to large areas of Long Eaton. The work included the raising and rebuilding of approximately 1.8km of flood embankment, constructing about 250m of new flood wall, raising the B6540 at Sawley to cross over the defences and replacing the flood gate across the Erewash canal.
- Beeston and Rylands - the work included the raising of about 700m of existing flood wall, building about 200m of new flood wall, rebuilding about 900m of flood embankment and the raising of the flood gate on the Beeston canal.
- Attenborough - the work created 2.5km of new flood wall between the Attenborough Nature Reserve and the railway line and raised the road at Barton Lane. New defences extend around Attenborough village protecting it for the first time. The nature reserve is a Site of Special Scientific Interest and the work required special care to minimise the effect on the environment.
- Meadows - the defences extend through the Victoria Embankment Park for a length of about 1.8km. The work had to take into account listed structures such as the War Memorial and the bandstand as well as ensuring that events such as the Riverside Festival and the Robin Hood marathon could continue during and after the scheme.
- Colwick - about 2.5km of defences have been raised and strengthened including both embankments and flood walls.