Flooding from the River Frome in Bristol will become a “significant risk” in the coming years due to the climate crisis.
Over the next few decades peak river flows around Bristol are expected to increase by 70 per cent, meaning a higher chance of rivers bursting their banks. Bristol City Council chiefs are warning that while the risk from the Frome is “relatively manageable today”, it could soon worsen.
A new £7.3-million project of flood defence works around the river is expected to begin in two years time, which will see a raft of measures address that growing risk in Bristol and South Gloucestershire. The works are expected to take three years to complete.
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Bristol City Council’s cabinet is expected to sign off the outline business case on Tuesday, June 7, bidding for the money from the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. The project would be jointly run by Bristol and South Gloucestershire Council, Wessex Water and the Environment Agency.
In a recent cabinet report, Matthew Sugden, Bristol’s principal flood risk officer, said: “Peak river flows for the region are forecast to increase by 70%, for the upper-end climate change scenario, by the end of the century. The flood risk posed from the Frome in Bristol will go from being relatively manageable today to a significant risk to people and property as we progress through the century.
“The programme will help to address the ecological emergency, by providing biodiversity improvements such as improved water quality and habitats for fish. The programme will also help to address the climate emergency, by increasing resilience to flooding through natural flood management measures and improved drainage.”
The project includes natural flood management measures in rural parts of South Gloucestershire, sustainable drainage systems in more urban areas around the Frome, restoring the river and working with property developers, exploring how new planning policy could address flood risk, and monitoring the network of culverts feeding into the harbour. The full business case is expected to be signed off in 2024, with the project completed in 2027.
