Shrewsbury flood defence maintenance

Work has begun to replace 25m of sandstone cladding on the Frankwell flood defences in Shrewsbury, as part of maintenance works carried out by the Environment Agency.

Work is required to replace the sandstone cladding over the strong concrete core. The existing flood defence cladding has started to show signs of wear and tear, so, the Environment Agency is pleased to replace the cladding, which will ensure the flood wall is well maintained and is in keeping with the surrounding area.

The works will not affect the level of flood protection already provided, with the repairs mainly for aesthetic and public safety purposes. In the event that the demountable flood barriers at Frankwell are required, the repair works will not affect any aspect of the deployment and the flood defence will still continue to perform normally and effectively at times of flood.

The Frankwell flood alleviation scheme reduces the risk of flooding from the River Severn through a series of permanent flood walls (700m) and demountable slats (155m) along the north bank of the Severn as it flows to the north of Shrewsbury Town Centre.

Works will take around three weeks to complete, and throughout the works, access for the public around the work and to the life buoys will be maintained.

Toby Whitehouse from the Environment Agency said: “We’re pleased to be able to carry out this work. While it is largely cosmetic as no work is needed on the main concrete core of the flood wall, we’re keen to make sure flood defences remain in keeping with the area.

“We would like to thank Shropshire Council for arranging the path to be temporarily diverted and for allowing us access to the Theatre Severn car park to store equipment during the work.”

If you would like to read more articles like this then please click here.