Stoke-on-Trent £6.5M flood defence scheme set for March

Environment Agency is about to start work on a £6.5 million flood risk management scheme to reduce the risk of flooding for 350 homes and businesses in Stoke-on-Trent.

The scheme is designed to reduce the risk of flooding from the the Fowlea Brook, a 6-mile tributary of the River Trent, when water levels rise during periods of heavy rain.

Work is due to start in March 2022 and aims to be complete by the end of the year.

The Fowlea Brook scheme is part of the Environment Agency’s investment of £5.2 billion by 2027 in 2,000 new flood and coastal defences to better protect 336,000 properties across England.

The investment is one of the ways that the Environment Agency is responding to the impacts of the climate emergency in the UK which is resulting in more extreme weather and heavy rain increasing the likelihood of flooding.

The scheme will have wide ranging benefits to the local community, with 214 residential properties and 119 non-residential properties being better protected as a result of the new defences. 

This equates to £62 million in direct damages which are avoided, said EA.