Maintenance work starts on Shrewsbury flood defence
The Environment Agency have begun work to maintain and replace 25 metres of sandstone cladding on the Frankwell flood defences in Shrewsbury.
Site of work at the Frankwell flood scheme
The existing flood defences consist of a flood wall that has a strong concrete core. The work being carried out is replacing the sandstone cladding that covers the main part of the wall, that helps protect homes and businesses from flooding.
Locals will know that the sandstone has recently been showing signs of wear and tear. So, the Environment Agency is pleased to replace the cladding, to make sure the flood wall is well maintained and is in keeping with the surrounding area.
While this work is happening there is no change to the standard of protection offered by the flood defence and the repairs taking place are mainly for aesthetic and public safety purposes. In the event that the demountable flood barriers at Frankwell are required, the repair works will not affect any aspect of the deployment and the flood defence will still continue to perform normally and effectively at times of flood.
The work is expected to take approximately 3 weeks to complete, and throughout the works, access for the public around the work and to the life buoys will be maintained.
Toby Whitehouse from the Environment Agency said:
We’re pleased to be able to carry out this work. While it is largely cosmetic as no work is needed on the main concrete core of the flood wall, we’re keen to make sure flood defences remain in keeping with the area.
We would like to thank Shropshire Council for arranging the path to be temporarily diverted and for allowing us access to the Theatre Severn car park to store equipment during the work.
The Frankwell flood alleviation scheme reduces the risk of flooding from the River Severn. The scheme consists of a series of permanent flood walls (700m) and demountable slats (155m) along the north bank of the Severn as it flows to the north of Shrewsbury Town Centre.