New flood defences already show value to Burton-upon-Trent
Official opening of £30 million Burton-upon-Trent flood defences
Upgraded flood defences at Burton-upon-Trent
- Environment Agency defences protected town last winter
- Burton now has some 9 kilometres of upgraded flood defences
- £3 million partnership funding for amenity and landscaping work
The Environment Agency’s £30 million upgrade of Burton-upon-Trent’s flood defences is complete, with the defences already demonstrating their value to the town.
The official opening is scheduled this Friday (16 July) in front of Burton Library.
Will Groves, senior flood risk adviser for the Environment Agency, said:
We’re delighted to successfully deliver upgraded flood defences for the community of Burton-upon-Trent, which will reduce the risk flooding to 4,500 homes and 1,000 businesses.
He added:
Overall, the improved defences, which total 3.7 kilometres from Branston to Clay Mills, are water tight and were already in action protecting the community from the impacts of Storm Christoph earlier this year.
The project follows work carried out between 2005 and 2007 and in all, Burton has some 9 kilometres of upgraded defences.
The Environment Agency has also supported East Staffordshire Borough Council in work to improve the areas around the library and leisure centre.
The council secured a £3 million grant from Greater Birmingham & Solihull Local Enterprise Partnership to carry out additional public realm enhancements.
This work includes a wetland area with a boardwalk and is due to be completed by March 2022.
In addition to improving existing defences, the Environment Agency is constructing further defences near Branston Water Park off the A38 after some 18 properties were impacted in the 2020 floods. This work is expected to be completed by next spring 2022.
While these defences are a major boost for the town, people still need to know what to do when flooding is expected so we urge people to check their flood risk, sign up for free flood warnings and keep up-to-date with the latest situation: If you’re at risk of flooding
Steve Slessor, Managing Director of Galliford Try’s environment business, said:
I congratulate the team and all the stakeholders involved for completing this fantastic project.
It is source of great pride for us as a team to know that the Burton scheme will help protect homes and businesses and have a real impact on people’s lives.
Louise Brooke-Smith, non-executive Board Director for GBSLEP, said:
This project will help protect homes and businesses as well as people and livelihoods. Our £3 million allocation from the Local Growth Fund is testament to our unique partnership work with local government, businesses and educational organisations.
In this case we have worked with East Staffordshire Borough Council to ensure the wetlands area is better connected to Burton town centre and can be enjoyed as a visitor attraction.
Notes to editor
There is further information on the Burton scheme.
- The Burton scheme is part of the £2.6 billion being spent over 2015-21 across the country, delivering more than 1,500 projects to better protect 300,000 homes. This is on top of £1 billion by 2020 to maintain flood defences.
- We will be doubling this investment to a record £5.2 billion between 2021-27, creating around 2,000 new flood and coastal defences to better protect 336,000 properties across England.
- In July 2020, the government published a new long-term policy statement on flood and coastal erosion risk management. This long-term plan to tackle flooding is the most comprehensive in a decade, with five ambitious policies and over 40 supporting actions to accelerate progress to better protect and prepare the country for future flooding and coastal erosion.