New flood defences welcomed by business owners

Stephanie pictured looking into the camera and smiling slightly; she's wearing a royal blue top with a grey blazer over the top and her blonde hair is pulled back into a ponytail. She's stood in the entrance to her shop, which is lit by lamps hanging from the ceiling. There's a large potted plant to her left and to her right you can just see a shop counter. The walls of the shop are exposed brick and in the background you can see rails of clothing.

Stephanie Brinkworth's shop only opened four weeks ago, and she said she worried about flooding

Ellen Knight
BBC Radio Shropshire

Businesses in Ironbridge have welcomed the announcement two new flood defence walls will be built in the town.

The government awarded £708,000 to Telford and Wrekin Council in order to build them along Bower's Yard and Ladywood.

The town is regularly affected by flooding due to its proximity to the River Severn, and the funding will also enable other flood resilience measures to be installed.

One business owner said her shop had only been open a month, and starting a business in a flood-prone town felt like a big risk.

In January 2024, the river level peaked at more than six metres, and in 2020 the Severn rose so high that temporary flood barriers buckled under the strain.

Stephen Ash, manager at The White Hart pub into which water has seeped previously, said the new defences would be "great" for the Shropshire town as flooding "affects business massively".

In his ten years at The White Hart he had "seen it all".

"Floodwater actually gets inside the pub," he said, adding that floods could lead to a 70% drop in footfall, and that for "a good chunk of the year, we worry about flooding".

Stephen pictured looking into the camera; he's stood in a pub courtyard with grey tables and chairs behind him, with dark orange parasols. The pub is a two-storey brick building that's painted a cream-beige colour and has white window frames. Stephen is wearing a light grey collared polo shirt. The weather is sunny and the sky is blue.

Stephen Ash said flooding could lead to a 70% drop in footfall at his pub

The Ironbridge - a dark red, wrought iron structure, that stretches over the gorge. The sides of the bridge are supported by grey brick walls, and the River Severn is flowing underneath it. On the far side of the bridge there are a few white and red brick buildings, and there's lots of trees and grass both in the foreground and background of the image. The weather is sunny and the sky is blue with a few clouds.

The Ironbridge Gorge is a popular destination with visitors to Shropshire

The funding is part of a two-year nationwide government project that will see more than £2.5 billion spent on new schemes and maintaining existing defences.

A £16m portion is due to be spent protecting communities along the River Severn.

Stephanie Brinkworth, who runs clothing boutique River Bloom, only just opened her shop and said it had felt a risk to do so due to the flooding problems,

"You obviously think 'what are the pros and cons around this'?" she said.

"Anything that can help businesses is a plus, so I support [the defences] 100%."

The new flood defence walls will be built on Bower's Yard and Ladywood, over the river from where the majority of homes and shops are based.

Sarah Morris, director of Ironbridge Fine Arts, said flooding was "devastating" for her business, which was close to the banks of the river.

"It's brilliant that [new defences] will help that side of the river, but it won't affect us, which obviously is a shame," she said.

Flooding can be "really bad" and "happens really quickly", she said.

"In 2020, in less than eight hours, it went from the bottom of the wall [on the banks of the river] right the way through to our building," she recalled, adding that the water rose up to knee-depth.

Sarah is looking into the camera and smiling slightly; she's wearing a black zip-up fleece with an olive-green top underneath, and her brown hair is pulled back into a ponytail. She's pictured standing outside her shop on the Wharf in Ironbridge, the shop is red brick with black wooden doors. Behind Sarah, in the background, are a few red brick houses with white windows, and trees. The sky is blue and the weather is sunny.

Sarah Morris said the defences would be "brilliant" for the homes on the other side of the river

Telford and Wrekin Council has said it has "seen more frequent and higher levels of flooding", with this money supporting "vital efforts to safeguard communities".

It added "this project is another pioneering way we're enhancing flood resilience" and was in addition to "the council's own £3.5m investment over the next four years to tackle surface water flooding".

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