Welcome news as green light given for final stage of flood defence work in Southwell
Almost twelve years after significant floods prompted the development of defence schemes for a town, approval of the final phase has been welcomed.
Plans for a flood bund to temporarily hold back water from Southwell’s Potwell Dyke were granted approval by Nottinghamshire County Council’s planning committee on January 28.
It has been a lengthy process to get to this point — with planning delays due to missing information in the application resulting in an objection by the Environment Agency as further specialised ground investigation and hydraulic modelling was needed — as it was a significant flooding incident in 2013 which prompted the development of the scheme.
Funding was secured for the project, and other flood alleviation works in the town, in 2018, with Southwell Town Council setting aside a £120,000 contribution which it will pay upon completion of the bund.
Southwell Town Council chairman Peter Harris has welcomed the decision, and said: “It’s been a very torturous process — of course this is just one part in the process, its the last one, to protect Church Street.
“We are pleased its gone through… it is a vulnerable area.”
Flood defence works already carried out in Southwell have included new gullies, bespoke property flood resilience measures to over 100 properties, kerb drains to collect surface water into the drainage system on Lower Kirklington Road, and landscaping works to help to control the flow of water.
The 2013 floods saw £9m of damage caused to 200 homes and businesses in the town when three inches of rain fell in an hour, with the Church Street area particularly affected.
Some residents were unable to return to their homes for many months and some for up to a year.
Potwell Dyke again burst its banks in June 2019, and homes also suffered during Storm Babet in 2023.
The bund is proposed to store surface water at Potwell Dyke, to protect 70 homes and businesses from flooding by temporarily holding back water during times of exceptionally high flow.
Water will be released from the storage area in a controlled manner once flow levels downstream have subsided.
“The bund isn’t particularly high, what it does is create a short-term store of water. It’s not a reservoir, so when there’s a peak flow Potwell Dyke will overflow and be retained there and then will drain out as the water recedes and flows to the Greet, ” Mr Harris added.
“I think the projections are the maximum amount of water held there will drain in 24 to 48 hours, so we’re not going to talk about destroying the grass in that time. It might get a bit muddy but the area will recover.”
The town council now plans to liaise with Nottinghamshire County Council to ensure the larger authority takes responsibility for the maintenance of the mechanical parts of the defence to ensure their longevity, as well as the land which the town council currently rents from the county council on a long lease.
