Partnership project to help protect Nottinghamshire villages from flooding
Construction has started in Lowdham
Construction of the first phase of a Natural Flood Management (NFM) scheme to help reduce flooding to communities in Nottinghamshire has now started in Lowdham.
The Environment Agency has teamed up with Trent Rivers Trust and Nottinghamshire County Council on the £77,000 project which will help to reduce flood risk to over 170 properties in Lowdham and Lambley.
The project, which has benefitted from £75,000 of Government funding, is expected to be completed by October 2019. It is part of a national £15million NFM programme, which, in addition to delivering flood risk reduction and environmental enhancements, aims to contribute to the growing evidence base for NFM.
Working across 15 sites upstream of Lowdham, the measures involve constructing leaky wooden barriers to help reduce the amount of water that enters the Cocker Beck by slowing and storing water within the existing ditch network, to reduce the rate that flood water travels to the downstream communities. The barriers will also help to trap sediment to improve the water quality downstream.
Environment Agency Area Flood and Coastal Risk Manager, Paul Lockhart, said:
We’re delighted to have secured a Natural Flood Management scheme with our partners, Trent Rivers Trust and Nottinghamshire County Council, for the village of Lowdham. This scheme will allow us to manage flood risk using innovative solutions that are sustainable and cost-effective and, as part of the project, we will be looking at how the measures are contributing to flood risk reduction.
Nottinghamshire County Councillor John Cottee, Chairman of Communities and Place Committee, said:
We’ve been working hard to develop and promote schemes to protect properties from flooding in dozens of our towns and villages as we know flooding devastates lives. Natural Flood Management is now recognised as a more sustainable approach to reducing flood risk and it also delivers lots of other environmental benefits too. It’s great that we’re working in partnership with local land owners, Trent Rivers Trust and the Environment Agency, to deliver this scheme.
Trent Rivers Trust Project Manager, Alan Graham, said:
The Trent Rivers Trust are excited to be working with local landowners to reduce flood risk downstream in Lambley and Lowdham. By working closely with landowners we have been able to design interventions which not only slow the flow and allow natural infiltration, but will improve water quality and increase valuable habitats without having an adverse effect on farm business.