ENVIRONMENT chiefs have unveiled a five-year action plan to protect York from growing risks of flooding posed by climate change.

The plan looks at a range of potential measures including:

  • Raising and building new flood walls
  • Raising and building new embankments
  • Creating new flood storage areas
  • Building new pumping stations
  • Modifying Naburn Weir to reduce river levels

The work will be funded by £45 million committed by the Government earlier this year after the devastating flooding caused by the River Ouse and River Foss bursting their banks last Boxing Day, and by another £15 million already in the flood programme.

This funding is on top of the £17 million already being spent on upgrading the Foss Barrier and Pumping Station.

York Press:

Barriers like these, shown beside the Severn, could be deployed on King's Staith during severe flooding

The Government has said the five-year plan would help protect more than 2,000 properties.

York Press:

Tony Andryszewski with a graph showing the rising annual peaks on the River Ouse since 1885

Tony Andryszewski, flood risk manager at the Environment Agency, said flood risk was increasing in York because of climate change and, while existing defences had stood up well to flooding in the past, action was needed now to reduce future flood risk to properties and businesses.

York Press:

“We have listened to what residents and businesses were saying to us back in May and we are now sharing our outline plans at an exhibition next week," he said.

York Press:

He added that the longer term ambition was to concentrate on the wider Ouse catchment and explore options such as stemming the flow and holding it in the peat on the moors, and also creating storage in the washlands in the upper catchment.

  • The exhibition will take place at Hotel 53 in Piccadilly, York, between 12 and 7pm on Friday November 25 and from 10am until 5pm on Saturday November 26.

York Press:

What's planned where?

THE agency's plans are will impact on ten separate areas of York.

The Press can exclusively reveal details of what is being planned in each community.

The agency stresses that its proposals are not final, and will need to win public support, be technically feasible and affordable. It wants to know what residents think at its exhibition next week. 

York Press:

Possible work could include constructing a new fully automated pumping station where Blue Beck enters Clifton Ings and increasing the pumping capacity and resilience of the existing Burdyke Beck pumping station.

Existing embankments could be raised by between 1.2 and 1.5 metres at Clifton Ings, Lower Bootham and St Olave’s School, helping to protect homes in, for example, the Shipton Road area which was badly flooded in 2000.

A high earth embankment or flood wall could be built to the rear of Government House Road and the Almery Terrace flood wall could also be raised by up to 1.1 metres using demountable defences.

York Press:

Possible work could include building an embankment of up to 2.8 metres high along Gale Lane Drain to prevent water going over onto Hob Moor Drive.

The height of the Holgate Beck pumping station and access road may also be raised to improve its resilience to flooding.

York Press:

Possible work could include the construction of a new flood wall of up to 2.5 metres in height to join the high ground north of Main Street to the high ground of the gardens of Ferrymans Walk, with flood gates for access

A new pumping station would also be needed in conjunction with the flood wall. The agency says this scheme is less likely than those in some other locations.

York Press:

The Foss Barrier and Pumping Station are already undergoing a £17 million upgrade which will significantly reduce the risk of flooding to the Foss Basin.
But the agency may also seek to temporarily store floodwaters upstream of York, which could slow the flow of water into the Foss.

In key locations, it may also carry out work in the channel to improve the flow of water along the Foss, particularly through the city centre, for example dredging to remove a build-up of silt.

York Press:

Possible work here could include building temporary walls along Skeldergate, Queen's Staith and Kings Staith, installing install new defences from Lower Friargate to South Esplanade and building a 0.8 metre high wall and flood gates along the edge of Tower Gardens.

The agency may also raise the embankments in Museum Gardens by up to 1 metre, raise existing flood walls/gates at Marygate, replace 12 flood gates at Earlsborough Terrace and raise the wall there by up to 0.6 metres, increase the height of the flood gate at Lendal Bridge by 0.7 metres, and raise the wall at Wellington Row and North Street and inside the car park at Park Inn by 0.55 metres.

Other measures include raising sections of footpaths, building new flood gates and a 1.3 metre high wall in the post office sorting office car park, and building a 0.9 metre high wall and gates at Memorial Gardens.

York Press:

Possible work could include increasing the height of both banks of Osbaldwick Beck at Melrosegate by between 0.1 and 1.4 metres, on the left bank of Osbaldwick Beck at Burnholme Drive and Millfield Lane and on the right bank of Osbaldwick Beck at Outgang Lane commercial units.

With heights between 0.6 and 1.8 metres, the agency may construct a gate at the entrance to the James Street traveller site, a wall along the right bank of Tang Hall Beck, a new wall along Osbaldwick Beck at Tang Hall Lane crossing, a wall along both banks of Osbaldwick Beck along Murton Way and Osbaldwick Village, which would also require approximately 22 flood gates to allow access to estates and properties.

The agency says these schemes are less likely to go ahead than those in some other locations, given the huge improvements to the Foss pumping station which will reduce flood risks.

York Press:

The proposals include increasing the height of existing walls at Terry Avenue and Postern Close by between 0.5 and 0.8 metres, increasing the existing defences at Lower Ebor St and extending the flood wall to near Bewlay Street and raising the height of flood defence by 0.5 metres along Waterfront House in Terry Avenue.

The agency may also build a new demountable barrier around 2 metres high across Clementhorpe Street, which could connect into existing defences, and build a new flood wall 0.6 metres high to the rear of Waterfront House.

Other plans include building a 1.5 metre high embankment downstream of Rowntrees Park to reduce the risk of flooding to Butcher Terrace and Terry Street, and building a second embankment to reduce the risk to Reginald Grove.

York Press:

Possible work could include raising a section of Fordlands Road where it crosses Germany Beck, also replacing the culvert structure and raising parapets and joining this into the new Germany Beck spine road to hold back water from the River Ouse.

The agency may also increase the height of retaining walls by between 1 and 1.2 metres at Grange Garth and Alma Terrace, running along New Walk and including 2 new flood gates, building a new flood wall about 1.3 metres high with two floodgates in St Oswald’s Road and extending the existing floodwall on both sides of Landing Lane.

York Press:

Possible work could include building up a section of Bishopthorpe Road to remove an existing depression where water gathers and building a new flood wall about 0.5 metres high around the Dell, joining the high ground at Bishopthorpe Palace and raising the bottom end of Chantry Lane.

The agency may also install a penstock to the Chantry Lane manhole, install a small pumping station at the end of Chantry Lane to pump surface water over the new flood wall.

York Press:

Naburn Weir could be modified so it could be lowered at certain times to allow more water in the Ouse to leave York more quickly, if this is seen to reduce river levels.

But the agency stresses it would assess the impact downstream before pursuing this option.

Other possible work includes increasing the height of land at Moor Lane by up to 1.2 metres, building a new defence along the river bank adjacent to Front Street and Maypole Grove, installing a new pumping station in a low spot on the B1222 road, creating a flood storage area and building a new embankment in a field west of the railway line on Howden Dyke.

*For more details of the proposals, go to https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/york-5-year-flood-plan