Environment Agency better protecting Nottinghamshire homes

3 Feb 2023 12:58 PM

£293,600 scheme fits flood doors, barriers and self-closing air bricks to better protect 21 homes in Trowell from devastation of flooding

The Environment Agency is installing property flood resilience (PFR) measures to better protect 21 homes at Trowell, in Nottinghamshire, that are at risk of flooding.

The community in Trowell has been affected by flooding from the Boundary Brook on four occasions in the last 15 years, with several properties experiencing internal flooding and many more narrowly escaping floodwater coming into their homes. The events have taken a significant toll on the community.

The £293,600 scheme will install measures such as flood doors, flood barriers, non-return valves, self-closing air bricks and pumps that help to reduce the risk of water entering people’s homes during a flood. The installation will run until the start of March with funding provided from the Environment Agency, Trent Regional Flood and Coastal Committee and with support from Nottinghamshire County Council.

One of the flood doors installed in Trowell to keep the water out

Environment Agency Area flood risk manager Dave Turnbull said:

With our changing climate, we are unable to eliminate the risk of all flooding but we can help communities become more resilient to it. We hope that the property flood resilience measures will help to give the community some reassurance by ensuring a flood does less damage and life can get back to normal much quicker.

Carole Bulloch, who is among the residents in Trowell benefiting from the scheme, said:

We are over the moon to have been offered property flood resilience measures on our house.  Now that they are installed, we feel we have greater peace of mind that, should the rain come, we are more resilient to it.  The quality of the products on offer is high; our replacement front and side doors are very similar to what we had before, albeit more secure and now flood resilient. We are extremely grateful.

Non-return valves stop water flowing into the house, only out

Councillor Neil Clarke MBE, cabinet member for transport and environment at Nottinghamshire County Council, added:

We know that flooding devastates communities, and that is why we are committed to working with our partner organisations to deliver solutions, both big and small, to protect residents and their homes. These measures will undoubtedly bring reassurance to residents previously affected by flooding in Trowell, and this is just one step towards our aim of creating more flood resilient communities.

You can check your flood-risk, sign up for free flood warnings and keep up to date with the latest situation at https://www.gov.uk/check-flood-risk, call Floodline on 0345 988 1188 or follow @EnvAgency on Twitter for the latest flood updates.

• Property flood resilience measures include barriers, flood doors, non-return valves, self-closing air bricks and pumps.
• To find out if you are living in a flood-risk area and for information about how to sign-up for flood alerts and warnings, please visit the Environment Agency website or contact Floodline on 03459 88 11 88.
• The Government’s investment in flooding has doubled to a record £5.2 billion between 2021-27, creating around 2,000 new flood and coastal defences to better protect 336,000 properties across England

• Information on maintenance on the Boundary Brook can be seen here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/river-and-coastal-maintenance-programme

• Maintenance has been increased with a focus on heavy rainfall events as part of our incident response.  Routinely the Brook will be maintained four times a year with the outfall into the River Erewash being checked monthly.  During and after heavy rainfall the channel and outfall is checked and cleared.