Chelsea garden promoting flood resilience opens

The garden is at Howbery Business Park in Wallingford

A new garden promoting flood resilience measures using nature-based solutions has opened.

The project at Howbery Business Park in Wallingford gives free public access to a blueprint for how outdoor spaces can help reduce flood risk.

Features include a pond that doubles as a sump to collect water and a smart rainwater tank that allows remotely controlled draining ahead of predicted rainfall.

It builds on the silver medal-winning Flood Resilience Garden that debuted at Chelsea Flower Show last year.

The garden's designer Ed Barsley, of the Environmental Design Studio, said: "With this garden, we wanted to demonstrate that flood resilient design needn't be a compromise.

"You can create spaces that are both beautiful and enriching, whatever the weather."

He added that, in making the garden permanent, "we've worked hard to ensure it can endure and thrive for decades to come".

It features a water feature designed to manage the flow of rainwater

The garden is part of a resilience campaign by Flood Re - a joint initiative between the government and insurers to make flood insurance cover for households more affordable.

Kelly Ostler-Coyle, of Flood Re, said: "We're thrilled that the flood-resilient garden now has a permanent home, open and accessible to the wider public.

"Outdoor spaces like this are vital in providing a natural first line of defence against flooding.

"This garden demonstrates how thoughtful choices in plants and landscape design can offer both aesthetic value and tangible protection - helping to minimise physical damage and emotional strain when floods occur."

Andy Brown, joint chief executive at HR Wallingford - which owns the site - said the garden "looks magnificent".

"I am sure [it] will inspire everyone who visits, as well as providing a tranquil space for those that work here," he said.