Brislington flood defences to undergo £2M refurbishment

After falling into a state of disrepair, since they were constructed more than 40 years ago, the flood defences at Brislington near Bristol are set to undergo a £2M refurbishment project that will fortify the flood walls, which have begun to fall apart.

Going into further detail, the Environment Agency has laid out plans to repair the collapsed channel walls around the Brislington flood defences as well as install a new platform at a metal gate near the flood relief tunnel, which prevents debris from blocking said tunnel.

However, in recent times the gate has become blocked with debris itself and has caused the river to spill over and flood anyway, resulting in the plans to construct this new platform which Environment Agency workers will be able to stand on while they clear away the debris which causes these blockages.

These defences will benefit the local area by protecting approximately 100 properties.

A representative of the Environment Agency, Ron Curtis stated: “Brislington is a key flood defence and making these improvements now will keep it fit for purpose, cutting the risk of people’s homes becoming flooded.”

The Deputy Mayor for Communities at Bristol City Council, Councillor Asher Craig added: “The work being carried out by the Environment Agency at Brislington Brook is important to protect people’s homes from future flooding and has been carefully planned to minimise the loss of trees whilst allowing clear access to the flood defence site.

“Trees being removed will be replaced by the council with involvement from the community to identify suitable planting sites. Overall the city’s ambition is to increase the tree canopy of Bristol through schemes such as One Tree per Employee, which launched in November last year and has already been successful, with 57 Bristol businesses buying a tree for each of their 2,400 staff.”

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