Salisbury River Park construction scheme kicks off

The Salisbury River Park construction scheme – a project aimed to better protect homes and businesses in the city from flooding – is underway.

This £27 million transformational scheme is set to reduce flood risk to over 350 homes and businesses in Salisbury.

It will also create 2 hectares of enhanced riverside habitat for the benefit of wildlife, remove obstructions to allow fish migration to continue upstream and create 13 hectares of high quality public open space.

The Salisbury River Park project is a collaboration between the Environment Agency, Wiltshire Council, Salisbury City Council and Swindon and Wiltshire Local Enterprise Partnership.

In the initial stages of work, the River Avon channel in the Central Car Park will be dewatered to enable work to start in the river channel.

Excavation work will also start in Central Car Park and Fisherton Recreation Ground.

“The start of construction is a really important milestone for the Salisbury River Park. This is the first step in providing better flood protection for the city,” said Ron Curtis, Area Flood and Coastal Risk Manager at the Environment Agency.

It is anticipated that the main construction works will be completed in spring 2024.