£2.9m flood scheme will benefit 205 Barry homes and three schools

Welsh Government funding for a £2.9 million flood alleviation scheme in Barry, has been announced by the Natural Resources Minister Carl Sargeant.

The funding – £2.151 million from Welsh Government, £113,000 European Regional Development Funding and £302,000 from Natural Resources Wales and the balance from Vale of Glamorgan Council – will construct the Coldbrook Catchment Flood Alleviation Scheme to reduce the risk of flooding for residents in 205 homes, three schools and the community.

There is a history of flooding problems associated with the Coldbrook watercourse and associated drainage systems. The watercourse begins in the Colcot, Barry and flows around 3.7km in open channels and culverts through Gibbonsdown, Cadoxton and Palmerston before discharging into the Bigis Moors drainage system.

The most significant flooding incident occurred in July 2007 when over 100 properties were affected during intense rainfall which resulted in the watercourse and drainage system becoming overwhelmed and unable to cope with the volume of run-off.

The scheme will reduce the risk of flooding and save an estimated £50 million cost of flood damages.

A range of works to improve the flow carrying capacity of the watercourse will include repairing damaged sections, widening channels, clearing debris, widening and improvement of culvert entries, provision of new overflow and interceptor drains, new ditches to collect overland flows and direct water into the drainage systems and the construction of flood storage area to hold back the peak of the flood.

Carl Sargeant said:

“I am delighted to announce this funding to protect people, homes, schools and communities in Barry, which forms part of more than £24 million Welsh Government capital grant aid available in 2015/16 to support flood and coastal risk management improvement schemes and projects.

“Over the lifetime of this Government we are investing over £245 million in flood and coastal risk management. This has been supported by almost £50 million from the European Regional Development Fund. We are continuously working to further improve our preparedness, resilience and response to events such as flooding.”

Darren Walsh, Flood Risk Manager for Natural Resources Wales said:

“We can’t always prevent flooding from happening, but where we can, we’ll take action to reduce the risk to people’s homes and businesses. This scheme is an excellent example of how various flood authorities can work together to come up with effective solutions to managing flood risk. We hope the scheme continues to provide peace of mind for the people who live and work in the Barry area.”