£35m Cardiff flood scheme work begins

Construction of a new flood defence scheme to protect 2,800 homes in Cardiff from the risk of flooding has begun.The £35m scheme will span 1.5 kilometres along the foreshore, from Tidefields Road to the River Rhymney estuary.The project, the majority of which is funded by Welsh Government, will take around three years to complete.It is designed to protect properties from rising sea levels for the next 100 years and provide defence against a one-in-200-year severe weather event, including allowing for the effects of climate change.Cabinet member for climate change at Cardiff Council, Cllr Caro Wild, said: “As a coastal city with three rivers running through it, it’s vital we take action now to protect homes, businesses and key infrastructure from the increased risk of flooding we will face in the future as a result of climate change.””Through our One Planet Cardiff strategy we’re playing our part in limiting global temperature rises and doing some really good work to reduce carbon emissions: building a new low carbon heat network, the new solar farm at Lamby Way, developing our network of segregated cycleways, planting tens of thousands of trees annually, and more – but the impacts of climate change are happening to the city already and sea levels have already risen, so proactive steps like these flood defences, are also essential to ensure Cardiff is resilient enough to cope in years to come.”The work will see 150,000 tonnes of rock armour protection installed along the coastline to manage erosion and high tides as well as sheet piling and maintained earth embankments along the river estuary.Improvements to the condition of the stretch of Wales Coast Path located within the boundaries of the scheme will also be made, alongside access improvements to the path, as part of the project.