The Environment Agency is getting ready to start work in March on a £6.5 million flood risk management scheme to reduce the risk of flooding for 350 homes and businesses in Stoke-on-Trent.
The scheme is designed to reduce the risk of flooding from the Fowlea Brook, a 6-mile tributary of the River Trent, when water levels rise during periods of heavy rain.
The Brook runs through the heart of Stoke-on-Trent from north of Longport and meets the Trent between the town centre and Fenton.
According to the Agency, increased protection from the Fowlea Brook will enable regeneration worth £31.5 million and create up to 570 jobs.
A stretch of the Fowlea Brook, a 6-mile tributary of the River Trent
Environment Agency Flood Risk Manager for the West Midlands, Mark Swain, said:
“While properties in the area have thankfully not flooded since 1997, there is a high risk of flash flooding and water levels can increase by more than a metre particularly during summer thunderstorms as we saw in July 2021.
“This scheme will help to better protect the area from the devastating impact of flooding and make it more resilient to effects of climate change. It will also enable the area to be regenerated and help to create more than 550 jobs.”
The Agency said the scheme will have wide ranging benefits to the local community, with 214 residential properties and 119 non-residential properties being better protected as a result of the new defences. This equates to £62 million in direct damages which are avoided.
As well as the protection to properties, removing a weir as part of the design will unlock 6.5 kilometres of river for fish migration from the Trent to the headwaters of the Fowlea Brook.
The Environment Agency has developed a range of solutions to reduce the risk along a 400 metre stretch of the Fowlea Brook which include embankments, free-standing flood defence walls, sheet piled walls and the construction of a new section of channel.
All of the construction methods are required due to the changing nature of the ground conditions and also the adjacent land use.
The increased standard of protection will benefit over 20 hectares of land which is currently designated as flood zone 3, but which will be protected to a higher standard.
The scheme, which will cost £6.5 million, which is largely funded by Environment Agency Flood Defence Grant in Aid, with contributions from the Trent Regional Flood and Coastal Committee (£640k) and the Stoke and Staffordshire Local Enterprise Partnership (£500k) and smaller contributions from Stoke-on-Trent City Council (£92k) and a private developer (£50k).
The work is due to start in March 2022 and aims to be complete by the end of the year.
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