Shropshire Star

Shrewsbury flood defence wall work 'is aesthetic'

Repairs being carried out to Shrewsbury's flood defences are mainly cosmetic, says the Environment Agency.

Published
Last updated
Work on the flood defences. Photo: @MarkBowersEA

Fencing has been put around parts of the Frankwell flood defences while the sandstone cladding that covers them is replaced.

The work is expected to take around three weeks.

The flood defences are made up of a flood wall that has a strong concrete core. The work being carried out is to replace the sandstone cladding that covers the main part of the wall, which helps protect homes and businesses from flooding.

The Environment Agency said that the sandstone has been showing signs of "wear and tear", so is being replaced to make sure the flood wall is well maintained and is in keeping with the surrounding area.

Toby Whitehouse from the Environment Agency said: "We’re pleased to be able to carry out this work. While it is largely cosmetic as no work is needed on the main concrete core of the flood wall, we’re keen to make sure flood defences remain in keeping with the area.

Equipment

"We would like to thank Shropshire Council for arranging the path to be temporarily diverted and for allowing us access to the Theatre Severn car park to store equipment during the work."

The Environment Agency said that while the work is being carried out there is no change to the standard of protection offered by the flood defences.

The spokesman said that in the event that the demountable flood barriers at Frankwell are required, the repair works would not affect any the deployment and the flood defence will still continue to perform normally and effectively.

The Frankwell flood alleviation scheme consists of a series of permanent flood walls, stretching over 700 metres, and demountable slats that can cover 155 metres, along the north bank of the Severn as it flows to the north of Shrewsbury's town centre.