The Environment Agency has completed a flood scheme which will reduce flood risk for 333 properties and unlocks £75 million regeneration opportunities.
The Fowlea Brook Flood Risk Management Scheme in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, is a major upgrade to the town's flood defences that will benefit 333 homes and businesses.
The Fowlea Brook runs through the heart of the city and quickly fills up during heavy rainfall. With extreme weather conditions becoming more frequent and intense due to climate change, better flood protection was urgently needed.
The scheme consists of new flood walls and embankments, and a flood gate. Work involved repairs and upgrades to over 500 metres of the channel, extending its lifespan for another 60 years
The Environment Agency's project has helped unlock major regeneration in the area, with three housing developments worth £15 million already under construction, creating 238 new homes. A further 6 sites are in the planning system with the potential to deliver over 350 homes and a regional AI hub, worth over £60 million.
The flood wall, with a new development being build behind it.
The project has also created a better environment for wildlife. A barrier that prevented fish from swimming upstream has been removed, reopening 6.5km of the brook for fish migration. Brown trout and chub found during construction can now move freely along the waterway. The concrete channel has been redesigned to create more natural habitats and encourage greater biodiversity.
Mark Swain, West Midlands Flood Risk Team Leader at the Environment Agency, said:
We are delighted to have completed the Fowlea Brook Flood scheme and we look forward to seeing the benefits it brings for years to come.
This project is essential for lowering flood risk for 333 properties and for unlocking multimillion pound regeneration opportunities.
We are already seeing the effects of climate change in the UK. We're working to reduce flood risk for communities, with climate change projection built into the design of any scheme to ensure they are fit for the future.
Councillor Finlay Gordon-McCusker, cabinet member for regeneration, transport and infrastructure at Stoke-on-Trent City Council, said:
The completion of the Fowlea Brook Flood Defence Scheme is a significant milestone for our city.
This project will provide long-term protection for homes, businesses, key infrastructure and any potential development on the surrounding brownfield land, helping to reduce the risk of flooding and giving residents, business owners and investors greater peace of mind.
The project will help bring underused, former industrial and commercial land back into productive use, reinforcing our commitment to regenerating brownfield sites first wherever possible.
We're grateful to the Environment Agency for delivering this important scheme and for their commitment to protecting our communities from the impacts of extreme weather and climate change.
Vij Randeniya, Chair of the Trent Regional Flood and Coastal Committee said:
In the heart of Stoke on Trent, the Fowlea Brook scheme protects 333 homes and properties whilst also releasing further land for development. This was a particularly complex project which successfully brought many stakeholders together.
Businesses can plan with certainty, biodiversity has been restored and encouraged, and the public can rightly be proud of a major asset in their town centre.
The Fowlea Brook scheme is part of the Environment Agency's investment of £5.2 billion by 2027 in 2,000 new flood and coastal defences to better protect 336,000 properties across England. The investment is one of the ways that the Environment Agency is responding to the impacts of the climate emergency in the UK which is resulting in more extreme weather and heavy rain increasing the likelihood of flooding.
Make sure you know your flood risk by going the GOV.UK website or search 'know my flood risk' to sign up for Environment Agency flood warnings, receive information on the risk in your area and what to do in a flood: Check the long term flood risk for an area in England - GOV.UK
