On Tuesday 11 July, a public meeting was held in Malmesbury Town Hall, to present a community-led flood defence scheme affecting the St Johns/Lower High Street/Baskerville area of Malmesbury.
The presentation was delivered to around 40 local residents by local flood expert Edward Evans MA, FICE, Wiltshire Council Principal Drainage Engineer Danny Everett, and Malmesbury Town Councillor Steve D’Arcy.
There have been many flooding events in Malmesbury in recent years, and the expectation is that climate change is likely to increase the frequency and severity of future flooding. To address this risk, a flood defence scheme has been developed over recent years by local volunteers working with Malmesbury Town Council, the Environment Agency, and Wiltshire Council.
The meeting was called because the scheme has now reached the stage where £50,000 funding has been allocated to complete detailed modelling work for the scheme, and a further £550,000 provisional funding is in place for future development and implementation, pending Outline Business Case approval.
The presentation covered a timeline for flood alleviation activity in Malmesbury since the severe flood event occurred around St John’s Street in late 2012. Many steps have already been taken to improve the flow of water through Town since that flood, which has reduced, but not eliminated the risk to residents.
The key elements of the flood defence scheme were described in some detail, including a temporary barrier installed across the Memorial Gates and construction work to increase the height of the wall bounding the Northern bank of the Leat (stream) running through Cuckingstool Mead. Further work to improve the river flow downstream from St John’s bridge would also be undertaken.
At this stage of development, the exact nature of the construction work likely to affect local residents is uncertain, and so the purpose of the meeting was simply to raise awareness of the scheme and to provide reassurance that full and detailed consultations will be held as the scheme progresses.
A question and answer session followed the presentation before the meeting drew to a close.
The presentation material can be downloaded below.
