THE Foss in York has a new barrier.


Work finally got underway today (January 28) to lower a taller 16 tonne gate in to position across the river close to where it meets the river Ouse in the city centre.


 A crane had been due to start lifting the old Foss Barrier gate last week, prior to replacing it with the new one, but flooding prevented it.


The River Ouse eventually rose to more than four metres above normal summer levels because of Storm Christoph, and the Environment Agency said that meant it had to be delayed.


But today, after river levels had fallen back sufficiently for work to get underway. 


Mark Fuller, project lead for the Foss Barrier improvement scheme with the Environment Agency, said: “Today saw a major milestone in our plan to provide better protection for residents and businesses in York from flooding.


“We have invested £38 million in improvements to the Foss Barrier to reduce the risk of flooding for around 1,200 properties in the local area which now includes a huge, much taller flood gate being air-lifted to the site which will replace the old one.


“This will stop flood water from the River Ouse backing up along the River Foss after heavy rainfall. It means that the upgrade to the pumping station is one step closer to being completed.


“The whole upgrade to the Foss Barrier is expected to be finished by summer dependent on weather conditions. We are also investing over £45m in other parts of the city as part of our York Flood Alleviation Scheme to make over 2,000 properties more resilient during future floods and to climate change.”


This latest milestone brings the Environment Agency’s upgrade to the Foss Barrier pumping station one step closer to its scheduled completion date of June this year.
As part of the upgrade, all eight pumps have been replaced by bigger ones with greater capacity and new back-up generators mean they can operate during a power failure.


Steps have also been taken to stop the River Ouse flowing back up the River Foss under the new building. The upgrade has included modernisation of the control systems so that they are fully automated.

Progress has continued while following Government guidelines for safe working during the coronavirus pandemic.