Costs have risen by £500,000 for planned repair work to fix critical flood defences in Bristol’s harbour. 'Urgent' work to repair the sluices by Underfall Yard was approved by Bristol City Council’s cabinet in December 2021, but has not yet begun.
The sluice gates at Underfall Yard have given Bristol a way of controlling water levels in the harbour since 1840. They provide a critical defence from tidal flooding from the River Avon, but some of the infrastructure is over a century old.
Initially the council asked for £1.25 million from the Environment Agency to carry out the repair works. But now this cost has risen to £1.75 million, and the cabinet is expected to sign off the extra cash at a public meeting on Tuesday, April 4. The works will be fully funded by the agency.
