Council to replace collapsed wall in Tenbury

Worcestershire County Council will start to construct a new wall in Tenbury on Monday 24 February to replace the structure which collapsed during flooding last Autumn.

It is envisaged that construction will take approximately two weeks.

Despite it not being possible to identify the owner of the wall, the County Council has intended to act as a good neighbour and use its powers to replace the wall for some time.

It was important to first work with the Environment Agency and other partners to assess the potential to construct a more substantial flood defence structure.

Having concluded that there isn't a realistic 'in between' option short of a flood defence scheme, which is estimated at around £2million, it was then essential to secure an Environmental Permit from the Environment Agency to ensure that its construction is appropriate.

The Environment Agency processed the application extremely efficiently enabling the construction date to be brought forward.

The new wall will be a more or less 'like for like' replacement for the structure which collapsed.

As the replacement will be built using modern materials, the new wall will inevitably be stronger than the previous very old wall.

The new structure will not prevent a very high Kyre Brook from finding its way through numerous routes onto Market Street but the replacement will, as the wall did before its collapse, help to slow it down.  

Councillor Emma Stokes,  Cabinet Member for the Environment at Worcestershire County Council said:

''I'm delighted that the County Council is stepping in to replace this wall and I hope it encourages the Environment Agency to act promptly to bring a flood defence scheme to Tenbury."

She added: "The collapse of the wall has caused such anguish in the town and there has been considerable frustration about the delay. However, it's important that these things are done properly and that County Council officers and their colleagues in the Environment Agency continue to work together to make this happen."

 Councillor David Chambers, County Councillor for Tenbury,  added: "It's great that the County Council is getting this wall rebuilt and supporting the business owners and residents who will be incredibly relieved. It's important that we're all clear that neither the old structure nor the new one are flood defences and the brook will still find its way onto Market Street but at least at a much slower rate. I continue to lobby for the full Environment Agency flood defence scheme to be constructed but that at best this will continue to be delayed and I support construction of the new wall and any other measures which will help to reduce the terrible impact of flooding in Tenbury."