Bridgwater Tidal Barrier Scheme Reducing flood risk in together Welcome to this consultation about the Bridgwater Tidal Barrier Scheme1 The purpose of this consultation is to: • Share our progress since the last event held in September 2016 • Ask for your views • Update you on the next steps.

Background

The Environment Agency and District Council are working together to deliver improved tidal flood defences to protect Bridgwater and surrounding areas from tidal flooding by 2024 (subject to statutory approvals and funding).

The improved defences will consist of: • A tidal surge barrier across the downstream of Bridgwater • Improvements to flood defences downstream of the barrier. This is the best way to manage flood risk to Bridgwater and the surrounding areas into the future as sea levels rise due to climate change.

Who will pay for the works?

Funding and support for the project is being provided by:

Somerset Rivers Authority

The current cost estimate for the scheme is £60–70million. Following this consultation and ongoing discussions with landowners, we will update our design and the benefits, costs and funding requirements for the scheme.

Your views Please ensure feedback reaches us by: Why your comments are important to us… In previous stages of the project your feedback has been extremely valuable helping to identify issues and opportunities. The next stage of the project will focus on designing the detailed aspects of the barrier and the downstream defences. Your feedback will be used, alongside our ongoing technical assessments, to August help develop our designs and understand the issues important to the community. What are we asking for views on? The location of the barrier and gate type are now fixed – see board 2 for details. These decisions reflect the results of previous stages of our work. 21 We are now seeking views on issues such as: •The appearance of the barrier •How to minimise the impact of construction works •Opportunities for additional enhancements •Improvements to the flood defences downstream of the barrier. 1 Bridgwater Tidal Barrier Scheme Reducing flood risk in Bridgwater together Barrier type and location 2 Feedback from September 2016 event

In September 2016, we held a consultation to gather views on the best location for the barrier and the type of gate. We presented the results of an assessment of five different locations for the barrier. We identified two sites as front- runners and asked for your views on: • Site 4, located upstream of Dunball Wharf • Site 5, located between Express Park and Chilton Trinity. The overwhelming feedback was one of support for the barrier scheme. There was support for site 5, but site 4 was favoured by the majority of respondents. Our subsequent analysis identified that site 5 had a number of advantages over site 4.

Aerial View Advantages of site 5:

We have the greatest confidence of delivery at this location and it is the least cost site It provides the same standard of flood protection as site 4 It leaves the narrow part of the river near Dunball available for any future road crossing Chilton Trinity The river channel is more stable here than at other locations There are several access points, to help manage disruption during construction Compared to other sites there is likely to be less need for costly maintenance dredging and the structure will be smaller requiring Chosen Site (5) less maintenance costs Express Park It aligns with aspirations in the Green Network Plan for a pedestrian bridge linking Chilton Trinity with Express Park It aligns with the Bridgwater Vision.

600 m

Barrier location decision

Based on our technical assessments and consideration of all points raised in the September 2016 consultation, we announced in March 2017 that Site 5, between Express Park and Chilton Trinity, was our preferred site. Our subsequent work has focussed on site 5. A summary of the decision is available as a handout.

This shows the preferred site for the barrier

Gate type:

During the consultation we also introduced the two different types of gate that could be used to form the barrier. These were: • A vertical lift gate • A rising sector gate. Our investigations show that the best design is a vertical lift gate, comprising two gates. Two gates gives the best flexibility and reliability for operation generally and will also help to retain navigation during maintenance. This is a twin vertical lift gate 2 Bridgwater Tidal Barrier Scheme Reducing flood risk in Bridgwater together Barrier appearance 3 The tidal barrier will be a large structure. It will be visible across a wide area from property, roads, footpaths and open spaces. It is important therefore that the appearance of the barrier is carefully considered.

What are the main elements of the barrier ?

Three towers supporting the bridge and the gates. The middle tower will be in the centre of the river channel, the outer towers will be in the river banks. A high level bridge containing the operating equipment for the gates Service building(s) containing the control room, Two steel gates across the river electrical, plant and store rooms

In addition, we will need to provide car parking

Overall the barrier structure will be approximately 20m high and 55m wide. The graph shows how the height of the The essential elements of the barrier Overall the barrier structure will be barrier compares to that of other buildings are illustrated on the diagram. approximately 20m high and 55m wide. locally.

Structure supported on piles into the bedrock

How visible will the barrier be? The artist’s impressions give an indication of the extent to which the barrier will be seen from key locations.

Barrier location Service building(s) containing the control room, electrical, plant and store rooms

Three towers supporting the bridge and the gates. A high level bridge containing the The middle tower will be in the centre of the river operating equipment for the gates View from Hill. View south east from embankment footpath. View from Chilton Trinity. channel, the outer towers will be in the river banks. Distance to barrier, 2.6km. Distance to barrier, 380 metres. Distance to barrier, 150 metres. Two steel gates across the river

What might the barrier look like?

Below are some illustrations to show what the barrier might look like and how it may relate to its setting in the riverside landscape. We need to ensure that the barrier is functional and serves its operational purpose, but it is important that we think carefully about its design and appearance. Your opinions will help inform our thinking about the design and appearance of the barrier. We provide some example ideas which could celebrate the structure, engineering and functional design. Do you have an opinion on what the barrier should look like? We are at an early stage in the design process. Our ideas will continue to evolve over the coming months, but these images help to give an idea of the scale and form of the structure.

Option 1 Option 2 Service building(s) containing the control room, electrical, plant and store rooms In addition we will need to provide car parking Parking area Pedestrian/cycle bridge Operational buildings nestled into the landscape

-Enhanced riverside area Y–shaped concrete towers support the elliptical high level bridge. Y–shaped concrete towers support the elliptical high level bridge. This option explores a bolder, taller design which is intended to The arms of the Y profile express their structural role in supporting The arms of the Y profile express their structural role in supporting be seen from a distance. The towers reach slightly higher to the bridge and the gates. The bridge is clad with panels of metal the bridge and the gates. The bridge is clad with panels of metal achieve a sculptural elegance and are Y shaped (this shape and glass to enclose the structure and allow light in and glass to enclose the structure and allow light in. would be seen from the end elevations). They are intended to be likened to tall reeds of grass.

This sketch shows what the barrier might look like within its riverside setting. The operational buildings are set on a raised platform linking the barrier to the Design influences flood bank. A pedestrian/cycle bridge could be delivered with the barrier. Design influences Feedback to date: During June we held a drop in session in Chilton Trinity and residents provided us with their views on what they thought the barrier should look like. A summary of the feedback received is available as a separate sheet. 3 Bridgwater Tidal Barrier Scheme Reducing flood risk in Bridgwater together

Downstream defences 4 The scheme requires improvements to flood defences downstream of the barrier to prevent tidal flooding passing around the barrier into Bridgwater and to protect communities downstream of Bridgwater

Context and current understanding

The long term strategy for the Parrett Estuary, agreed in 2010, was to continue to maintain the existing tidal flood defences and construct a tidal surge barrier in the 2040s. Following the flooding in 2013/14 construction of the tidal barrier has been brought forward to 2024. Since 2010, we have also gained an improved understanding of the condition of the existing flood defence banks and have undertaken detailed modelling of the river. Removing the existing tidal flood defences is not an option because it would lead to widespread flooding of land and property and would adversely impact navigation in the Parrett Estuary. We have therefore looked in detail at the best way of developing the tidal flood defences downstream of the barrier to protect property and land. Raising the existing banks could meet the scheme objectives, however this approach would further raise extreme water levels in the channel and would make flooding downstream worse. In addition, recent detailed analysis of flood banks has indicated that the only way to safely raise some of them is to completely reconstruct them. We therefore considered an alternative approach of maintaining the existing banks, raising some of the banks and having a second set of banks at the margins of the floodplain. This approach would maintain the protection to land between the two sets of banks and increase the standard of protection to Bridgwater, Chilton Trinity, Combwich and south of .

Proposed improved defences downstream of the barrier

NEW 1500mm HIGH FLOOD BANK. LENGTH 300m RAISE EXISTING DEFENCES 400 to 600mm. LENGTH 900m

RAISE EXISTING FLOOD BANKS 500 TO 1000mm. LENGTH 1200m

RAISE EXISTING FLOOD BANK 400 TO 700mm LENGTH 800m

RAISE EXISTING DEFENCES 400 TO 600mm. LENGTH 500m

NEW 1200mm HIGH FLOOD BANK. This shows the type of flood banks we are proposing LENGTH 950m

NEW 1500mm (AVERAGE) HIGH FLOOD BANK. Proposed works LENGTH 3000m The proposed works are shown on the plan and include: •Raising of some of the existing tidal flood defences

RAISE EXISTING FLOOD BANKS 500 TO 1000mm. •Construction of new, secondary flood defences at LENGTH 900m Chilton Trinity, Combwich and Pawlett

•Improved protection measures to individual properties BARRIER SITE 5 where required. Legend Indicative alignment of new and improved flood defences We are in the process of engaging with landowners affected by these works and will continue these Existing flood defences

0 1 0.5 This map is reproduced from Ordnance Survey © material by CH2M Hill & Black & Veatch Ltd on behalf of discussions into the autumn. Kilometres ENVIRONMENT AGENCY with the permission of the Controller of Her Majesty's Stationery Office, © Crown copyright. Unauthorised reproduction infringes Crown copyright and may lead to prosecution or civil proceesings.Licence Number: 100026380

What will happen to the existing defences? Risk of flooding

It is the Environment Agency’s intention to maintain the We have analysed the proposed works and the existing defences existing tidal flood defences to their current level for the with our computer based models of the River Parrett. foreseeable future subject to our permissive powers and The proposed scheme and ongoing maintenance activities will: funding. •Continue to protect the land between the River Parrett and the new For example, we are currently carrying out improvement works on secondary defences from tidal flooding the tidal defences to the west of the estuary channel downstream •Reduce the risk of tidal flooding to Bridgwater, Chilton Trinity, of Chilton Trinity (the ‘Cannington Bends’ scheme). Combwich, Dunball and south east of Pawlett. We do not have any plans to remove existing tidal flood The tidal barrier will not increase the frequency of flooding What issues are important for us to consider defences downstream of Bridgwater. Your downstream. when we are planning the downstream defences?

views

4 Bridgwater Tidal Barrier Scheme Reducing flood risk in Bridgwater together Construction 5 Building the barrier and improving the downstream flood defences will require a significant amount of construction work. We envisage that works on site will start in 2022 and will take around two years to complete.

We are conscious that there are a number of significant projects ongoing in the Bridgwater area (e.g. Hinkley Point) and that people are concerned about disruptions and diversions. In planning the construction of the scheme we will:

• Look at phasing relative to other projects (some of those currently affecting Bridgwater will be complete before we begin work on the barrier)

• Work up detailed plans for how to minimise disruption, for example looking at how we can most efficiently organise deliveries to site.

Construction method for the barrier The construction sequence for the barrier works is shown below.

Diverted Diverted footpath footpath Reinstated footpath and floodbank

Temporary Temporary Barrier structure Divert footpath by–pass channel by–pass channel and training walls

Construct barrier Construct steel structure, bridge and Reinstated pile river/flood bank supports inside river bank bank the dry box. Construct service Service buildings Construct steel pile buildings and and training walls box to create dry training walls Excavate temporary construction area in channel to divert river the river channel

EXPRESS PARK EXPRESS PARK EXPRESS PARK EXPRESS PARK River Parrett 1 River Parrett 2 River Parrett 3 River Parrett 4 Construction preparation works Early construction stage Main construction stage Completed scheme

Access during construction Barrier

A38 We will need to access the site of the barrier from both sides of the river during construction. We are looking at options to minimise these impacts on both sides of the river. On the east bank we are looking at options to minimise the impact on Express Park including an access road around the south side of the park. On the west bank we are looking at options to minimise the impact on Chilton Trinity by creating an access road from near Saltlands Recycling Centre and past the sewage treatment works to the barrier site. Construction compounds would be set up on both banks near to the barrier site. Downstream defences We will also need to gain access to both sides of the river to construct the downstream defences.

Downstream defences

We envisage that material for construction of the downstream flood defence improvements will be excavated near to the works. However this will need to be in agreement with landowners. This will limit the volume of construction traffic on the local road network.

A39 A Your What steps do you think should be taken © Crown copyright to minimise impacts during construction? We are investigating a number of possible access routes to minimise construction impact views

Other impacts during construction Our Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) will consider what the adverse effects of construction will be. This will take account of issues including noise, dust, vibration and traffic and will propose measures to minimise adverse effects 5 Bridgwater Tidal Barrier Scheme Reducing flood risk in Bridgwater together

Wider opportunities Delivering the barrier scheme we have a unique opportunity to consider what other local enhancements could be delivered at the same time. To do this we need to 6 understand what people value about the local area, how they currently use it and how they would like to use it in the future. We have been working with a group of stakeholders to understand these issues and look at opportunities for additional public benefits that could be delivered alongside the scheme. This part of the project is critical to ensure that maximum benefits are achieved. These opportunities are likely to require additional funding from other parties. The map below shows some of the ideas that have been identified so far, but we must be clear all opportunities and enhancements are subject to landowner agreement, relevant permissions and consents as well as funding. We would love to hear your ideas.

Habitat and wildlife improvements Green infrastructure We could enhance the existing natural We recognise there are a vast range of environment for people and wildlife. natural resources that form the life This could include measures such as support system for Sedgemoor. woodland planting, creation or This includes the river and green enhancement of existing local nature corridors, some of which have been reserves, wetland creation from borrow highlighted in gold on the map. pits, planting wildflowers and trees, pond We are seeking to protect and enhance restoration and improving the suitability these important features. of pill boxes for bats and birds There are opportunities for the scheme to improve, connect and expand the green infrastructure network within Hedgerows and trees Sedgemoor.

This area has a ‘countryside around settlements’ policy designation in the Local Plan. This policy seeks to enhance Landscaped riverside public space areas of countryside around settlements. This could become an amenity area The provision of hedgerows, trees, incorporating seating and paths, with woodlands or other habitat types in native planting and interpretation these areas will contribute to meeting boards the objectives of this policy.

BARRIER Provide a visitors centre/café River crossing LOCATION As part of the barrier scheme we are We are looking at ways to incorporate a looking at opportunities to provide a bridge within the structure of the barrier. Express Park visitors centre. This might facilitate both pedestrian and cycle access. Chilton This will provide a missing link in the Trinity Parking existing riverside walk. Possible parking area for those wishing to walk in the area, enjoy the wildlife or see the barrier structure itself. Docks Renaissance Project This could be accessed from the This project recognises the historic Northern Distributor Road. value and recreational potential of the Bridgwater Docks. It aims to preserve and enhance the Access dock area to make it a visitor We could further develop the existing destination. It is identified in the path network to create a variety of Bridgwater Vision but there is currently routes of different lengths for a range no certainty in funding sources. of users. There are linkages with this scheme due Sign posts and way markers could be to the aspiration to refurbish key provided to identify points of interest infrastructure in the docks and the and destinations. Bridgwater and Taunton Canal. One specific example could include the There is also the potential to re–open possibility of extending paths on the the docks to the river. east side of the river from the Western

Way Bridge to the Clink bridge. Interpretation boards We hope that people will take an interest in Lighting of the barrier the barrier and the role that it will play in protecting Bridgwater and the surrounding Not to scale We are looking at options for lighting the area from flooding as well as in the local barrier at night. natural and historic setting of the River Parrett. At our recent consultation in Chilton Trinity We could provide interpretation boards to we noted that some residents had some describe: concerns about lighting. • Local wildlife and habitats • Tourist facilities and local history • Information on flooding and flood defences • Information on how the barrier works

These photos show various potential enhancements to the riverside setting

6 Bridgwater Tidal Barrier Scheme Reducing flood risk in Bridgwater together

What is the consenting process? 7 Before we can build the barrier we need to obtain permission for the construction works required. For the barrier…

•We will do this via a Transport and Works Act Order (TWAO) process. We have to use this process because the works will affect a navigable river. •The TWAO process incorporate the various consents we will need, including planning permission. •We will also have to apply for a marine license

For the downstream defences…

•Consent will be obtained through the normal route, via a planning application to Sedgemoor District Council.

Programme Programme Will there be further opportunity for comment?

Over the remainder of 2017 we will 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 continue to work up designs for the Landowners… barrier and downstream defences. Evolve EIA We will continue to consult landowners on the downstream defence proposals. The TWAO application required for the Prepare business case barrier is a complex legal process that EIA… will take some time. Ongoing consultation We are already working on our EIA. In the autumn we will move into the formal Submit TWAO/planning app scoping stage. This will involve consultation with a range of key stakeholders.

2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 Period for determination Stakeholders… Detailed design We will continue to work with stakeholders on the detailed design of the barrier The key project milestones are: and downstream defences. Construction •Submission of the business case for approval, autumn 2017 Pre–application consultation… •Submission of the TWAO and planning application for Before we seek consent for the works we will share the details of our final design downstream defences, autumn 2018 with everyone, via a further public exhibition. This will provide another •Approval of the TWAO/planning permission and final Will there be further opportunity for comment? opportunity for you to comment. funding approval 2020 During the consenting process… •Scheme detailed design 2021–2022 Landowners… Pre–application consultation… Once the TWAO and planning application are submitted there will be further Before we seek consent for the works we will share the details of our final •Scheme construction 2022–2024 We will continue to consult landowners on the barrier and the downstream opportunity for you to comment. proposals with everyone, via a further public exhibition. This will provide defence proposals. another opportunity for you to comment. EIA… During the consenting process… The sooner we have your comments the easier it will be for us to We are already working on the EIA. In the autumn we will move into the formal respond to them and reflect them in our proposals. With this in mind, scoping stage. This will involve consultation with a range of key stakeholders. Once the TWAO and planning application are submitted there will be we would encourage anyone with comments or views on the proposals further opportunity for you to comment. Stakeholders… to contact us now. That way we can take the time to properly consider your feedback and look at how we can incorporate it into our plans. We will continue to work with stakeholders on the detailed design of the barrier and downstream defences.

The sooner we have your comments the easier it will be for us to respond to them and reflect them in our proposals. With this in mind, we would encourage anyone with comments or views on the proposals to contact us now. That way we can take the time to properly consider your feedback and look at how we can incorporate it into our plans.

To comment on the information you’ve seen today: Your views •Speak to one of our team and fill in a feedback form •Fill in a feedback form and hand it to the team •Take away a feedback form and either post or email it back to us Please ensure all feedback reaches us by 21st August 2017.

For background information on the project, or to view this material again, visit: www.sedgemoor.gov.uk/bridgwaterbarrier 7