Frequently Asked Questions
Why is Halam Road still flooding despite super gullies being installed?
The super gullies were tested during a storm on 9 February 2020. You can read more about this on the Southwell Flood Risk Management page.
Who makes the decisions about the project?
The County Council is responsible for the overall delivery of all elements of the project. The project is managed through a board made up of key partners including:
- Nottinghamshire County Council (Project Lead)
- Via East Midlands Ltd. (Design and Construction of engineering schemes)
- Southwell Flood Forum (Community Representatives)
- Trent Valley Internal Drainage Board (Watercourse Management)
- Southwell Town Council (Community Representatives)
- Newark and Sherwood District Council (District Representatives)
- Environment Agency (Lead Funding Partners)
- Severn Trent Water (Utility Company)
When are things happening and where?
Springfield Dumble:
Main site works to install drainage and natural flood management measures have now concluded.
Halam Road:
Works on the public highway have been completed and we are preparing to commence work on the privately-owned land which contains the attenuation pond. We are improving drainage channels to direct flood water to the pond and are also working to increase the amount of water that the pond will be able to hold during flood conditions.
Southwell Trail:
Works to improve the current cross field drainage system began in spring 2020. Site clearance was carried out along the Trail to allow for the re-profiling of the drainage ditch, where a concrete canvas was installed to enable an improved flow of surface water. Planting works are scheduled for Spring 2021.
This project will increase the amount of temporary flood water storage and the speed at which the water can travel away from the built-up area. The trail is now open for public access.
Potwell Dyke:
We are currently working on the design for the creation of a flood water store adjacent to the Potwell Dyke off Church Street. This would mostly remain as accessible open space, but would be able to temporarily store flood water in times of extreme rainfall and so provide protection from flooding to the properties in Easthorpe and the wider downstream Potwell Dyke catchment. We anticipate that works will commence in Summer 2021, subject to planning approval.
Ongoing investigation and liaison with key stakeholders continues to inform our design process. Due to the discovery of buried archaeology on the site, a non-intrusive Ground-Penetration Radar (GPR) survey will be carried out to determine the location and extents of the archology. The GPR results will be used to inform the detailed design to minimise impact. The proposals of the design are intended to be shared with the wider community in advance of the planning submission
Area Wide Surface Water schemes:
Development of drainage improvement works around Southwell are ongoing at: Church Lane, Crafts Way, Merryweather Close, Lower Kirklington Road, Ropewalk, Chimes Meadow, Marrison Way, Potwell Close, Templeman’s Way and Easthope. The works at Hopklin Lane were completed at the end of September 2020. These works involved the replacement of the culvert and installation of new beany drainage blocks to improve the highway drainage and protect adjacent properties.
Design work for Church Street is currently under development with works programmed to commence in January 2021 The aim of the works is to address the contribution of surface water flow from Church Street to the flooding of properties down-stream in the catchment. This will be done through the installation of additional gullies which will connect into the existing drainage system and modifications to the existing bridge parapet wall at Commissioner’s Bridge to allow surface water to flow into the dyke.
Lowes Wong School:
Works were completed on-site in September 2020 to reduce the impact of surface water on the site. Works included the installation of a substantial system of sustainable urban drainage. Developments at the school site will also benefit residents of the Ropewalk and neighbouring areas and we hope that pupils will enjoy ‘wet orchard’, rain gardens and other features.
Property Flood Resilience:
Our PFR contract with Whitehouse Construction has been suspended since earlier this year as we have completed our first phase of delivery to over 100 properties. We will make decisions on how many other properties need protecting once we fully understand the level of protection provided by the hard engineering solutions being carried out in the catchment.
This is likely to be late spring in 2021 and if your property is affected we will write to you directly. We are also continuing to pursue a way forward regarding properties that hold listed status and will write to residents once we have more details to share.
When we are ready to recommence our contract with Whitehouse it will be restarted and they will complete the remainder of our PFR work.
Will the new development opposite Halam Hill pond make things worse?
The Miller homes development proposals were scrutinised during the planning stages and Nottinghamshire County Council ensured a robust surface water management proposal was developed for consideration and subsequent approval prior to planning approval. The surface water discharge from the completed development site will be controlled to a limited rate to the attenuation pond. This rate is significantly lower than the pre-developed site. Any other flows will be captured by the super gullies and the flood attenuation mound in Halam Road.
Why has the historic idea of a pipe between Halam Hill and the River Greet been abandoned?
The concept of connecting Halam Hill and the River Greet was conceived over 25 years ago. The Southwell Flood Alleviation Business Case was developed following a detailed strategic review of the whole catchment. All options were reviewed, costed and ranked on basis of the degree of protection and cost effectiveness. The current strategy does not include the historic scheme as it did not meet technical and financial criteria. Whilst we understand there is significant interest locally in the revival of this proposal in the future, it is not within the scope of the current works.
Once the Southwell Flood Alleviation Scheme is complete, will Southwell be free from flooding?
Southwell Flood Alleviation was developed to address the most severely affected areas. The works are underpinned by a flood risk management strategy which has been developed to manage the risk in the most effective way. Issues including increasing development, impermeable areas, water run-off and infrastructure will be continually addressed.
Why have some properties been offered property flood resilience and others haven’t, and why has this been done first?
Property Flood Resilience (PFR) measures are bespoke proposals which protect individual homes from flooding. Properties which have not been offered PFR will instead benefit from an increased level of protection from the schemes which are currently being installed.
We have designed the scheme to benefit homes across the catchment as a whole and will be continually reviewing which properties are protected by each element of the project as the designs develop.
