Press release: Flood risk management scheme for Worcestershire village opens

Today (Thursday 4 October) celebrates the official opening of a £4.1 million flood risk management scheme, which will reduce the risk of flooding for 272 homes and businesses in Broadway, Childswickham and Murcot.

Nigel Huddleston MP for Mid-Worcestershire, Worcestershire County Councillor Liz Eyre BEM, who represents Broadway, and Tony Jones, retired Chief Engineer from Wychavon District Council, will be unveiling a plaque and burying a time capsule at Badsey Brook in Broadway. Anthony Parry from the Environment Agency will be giving an outline of the scheme.

Broadway, Childswickham and Murcot were severely flooded in 2007 following record breaking rainfall across the area and the villages were again flooded in 2012. The new flood storage area, sited at an 18 acre field in Broadway, will be able to hold up to 135,000 cubic metres of water during times of flood and will only allow a set amount of water to flow downstream at times of intense and high rainfall. This will reduce flood risk to 57 properties in Broadway and 215 properties in Childswickham and Murcot.

The Badsey Brook flood risk management scheme has been delivered as part of the Environment Agency’s £2.6b capital investment programme to reduce flood risk to 300,000 homes by 2021.

The Environment Agency, Worcestershire County Council, Wychavon District Council, Broadway Parish Council and Childswickham Parish Council worked in partnership to secure over £2 million of Government Grant in Aid funding towards the scheme. The Environment Agency’s English Severn and Wye Regional Flood and Coastal Committee also contributed £1.2million. Worcestershire County Council and Wychavon District Council and the local parishes contributed the remaining £900,000.

As a condition of the planning application, detailed archaeological investigations, part funded by Worcestershire County Council, were carried out at the site, unearthing evidence of settlements dating back around 8,500 years. Finds included a beaker dating from around 2,000 BC and skeletons of a mother and baby.

Daniel Wilkinson from the Environment Agency said:

Flooding has a devastating impact on the lives of people and communities that are affected. It’s brilliant that by working with our partners we have found a solution that is designed to greatly reduce the risk of flooding for residents living in Broadway, Childswickham and Murcot.

Nigel Huddleston MP commented:

I am delighted that after so much hard work the Badsey Brook scheme is being officially opened. Broadway and Childswickham in my constituency suffered terrible flooding in 2007 and 2012, so it is a huge relief to see substantive action taken to avoid this happening again.

Flooding is personally, financially and environmentally devastating and as local MP I would like to thank the Environment Agency, Worcestershire County Council, Worcester Archaeology, English Severn and Wye Regional Flood and Coastal Committee, construction workers and local people for contributing to the completion of this vital scheme. May it protect people, businesses and properties for years to come.

Barrie Parmenter, Chair of Broadway Parish Council, added:

On behalf of Broadway Parish Council, I would like to thank the Environment Agency, Worcestershire County Council, Wychavon District Council and all other agencies for commissioning the flood scheme in Broadway. This now means that hundreds of families will no longer live in fear of flooding when severe weather reports are issued for the district.

Cllr. Emma Stokes, portfolio holder for environment and street scene for Wychavon District Council said:

We’re very pleased to be investing in this important flood alleviation work which will protect many homes in the local area. Flooding impacts not just on residents’ homes but is an incredibly stressful process to go through. This scheme will offer protection and peace of mind. We’re also really pleased to see former Wychavon employee Tony Jones supporting the official opening. This recognises his hard work and dedication to flood alleviation over the years.