Flood-hit town 'not being abandoned' after review

The town has been hit by heavy flooding in recent years

The Environment Agency says it is not abandoning town hit by heavy flooding after scrapping a proposed £11m defence scheme.

Bradford-on-Avon, in Wiltshire, was badly flooded in January 2024 before being devastated by Storm Bert in November.

The agency said a permanent £11m flood scheme for the town is now "unviable", adding it is committed to "community resilience and better flood warning".

Ian Withers, the Environment Agency's area director for Wessex, said: "It would be irresponsible to spend that kind of money that wouldn't necessarily protect the town from the sort of flooding we've seen in the last two years."

The River Avon has burst in banks in Bradford-on-Avon on numerous occasions in recent years, flooding nearby roads and buildings.

Mir Withers added the threat of a flood is "tripled" there because:

• It has a "huge catchment which drains through the town",

• "Huge volume of water which goes underground, that floods properties from the grounds upwards",

• And town is in a "steep-sided bowl".

The agency said it has ruled out the planned permanent flood scheme, which involved low walls and pumping stations, as prospective costs have more than doubled since it was proposed in 2017.

Mr Withers said Bradford-on-Avon's faces a "triple threat" of flooding

Mr Withers said the "impact of climate change" has also caused the agency to re-think its plans.

"Originally the plan was valid for the sort of weather we were having associated with the climate, before we started seeing the impact of climate change.

"Now we know the river can run through that town at the volume, speed and height that it does – we've seen it every winter for the last two of three years – the game's changed. We need to modernise our thinking and put in place a better system."

He added: "We're absolutely not abandoning the town or walking away."

On Monday hundreds of people attended a special event held to provide information on how to protect homes and businesses from flooding in Bradford-on-Avon.

The event was organised by the Environment Agency, Wiltshire Council and Wessex Water.