Demountable flood barrier for Welney Wash Road
The Environment Agency wants to hear from the public as it makes preparations to install a new demountable flood barrier for the Welney Wash Road.
An artist's impression of what the barrier will look like.
The barrier will be used to prevent any water spilling from the Ouse Washes Flood Storage Reservoir to the Welney village.
Historically, when the Washes flooded and the water level at Welney reached a predetermined level, we created a temporary flood barrier across the road using large sand bags.
Now a more robust barrier will be deployed on the Welney Wash Road where it intersects the Middle Level Barrier Bank.
Vital work
Project lead Nicola Oldfield said: “This is a really vital part of our long-term investment in refurbishing and maintaining the Ouse Washes Flood Storage Reservoir and protecting surrounding properties.
“To accommodate this barrier preparatory work needs to be carried out over a 14 week period in 2021 which will involve the temporary closure of Welney Wash Road.
“We appreciate that closing the Welney Wash Road will have considerable impact on the local community.
“We want to reduce that impact as much as possible by working with residents and businesses to identify the most appropriate time of year to close the road for the construction works.”
Consultation
The Environment Agency wants to hear the local communities’ opinions on timings of the road closure to help us decide the best period to do the work.
Construction is expected to take 14 weeks and the road will need to be closed for approximately 6- 8 weeks to install a concrete slab across it.
There are times of the year when construction cannot go ahead, due to birds overwintering and nesting on the Washes between November and July.
Therefore the working window is from July to October each year.
The Environment Agency continually engages with Natural England, and we are liaising with them to explore the potential to extend this window for the barrier foundation works.
An online survey will be available for comments the following link will go live on March 12 There will also be a public drop-in on March 18 from 3.30-7:30pm at the William Marshall Centre, Welney.
Noticeboards displaying project information and contact details are located on the bank near Earith Sluice.
They are in the Anchor Inn car park at Sutton Gault, at Welches Dam on the RSPB Reserve and near the old parish hall at Welney.