Natural flood management features – including three large storage
ponds and new water dependent habitats – are being created on
land at Coatham Wood upstream of Stockton.
Coatham Wood is next to Coatham Beck, which is a tributary of
Lustrum Beck, which flows through Stockton town centre.
The features will store flood water during heavy rain that will
then drain slowly back into Coatham Beck. The temporary storage
will reduce water levels downstream.
New flood defences
The storage and slower release of water will work hand in hand
with £3million in town flood defences which were previously
completed in the summer of 2017.
This involved working with Stockton-on-Tees Borough Council to
build new flood defences and improve existing ones in the town,
and replace Londonderry Bridge.
Also completed as part of the project was a new area of habitat
and upstream storage at Sixfields, next to Hartburn Beck, and
additional areas of habitat creation at Coatham Wood and Burn
Wood. These areas of new habitat have created a haven for
wildlife to thrive as well as contributing to the storage of
water through ‘slowing the flow’.
Lustrum Beck Flood Alleviation Scheme reduces the risk of
flooding to 150 properties in Stockton.
Final phase
For this final phase, the Environment Agency has joined
forces with Newcastle University, Arup and Tees Rivers
Trust to design the natural flood management features,
which are being created on land owned by the Forestry
Commission and managed by Forestry England.
It’s expected the work, which his being carried out by
contractor Ebsford, will be completed later in the summer.
All work is being carried out within current Coronavirus
government guidelines.
Dorian Latham, Lustrum Beck Project Manager at the
Environment Agency, said:
It’s exciting to be starting on site for the very final
phase of the Lustrum Beck project. It’s an innovative
approach that provides benefits for flood risk management
as well as significant opportunities for wildlife.
We are creating three large flood storage basins that
will reconnect historic flood plain and the river at
Coatham Beck. They are designed to slow and temporarily
store excess water from the beck at times of heavy rain,
reducing the volume of water closer to the town.
Lustrum Beck combines engineering solutions in the town
centre and natural flood management upstream, which will
work together to reduce the risk of flooding to
residents, as well as creating vital habitat for wildlife
to thrive and the community to enjoy.
Partnership working
The trees planted as part of the natural flood management
scheme will be part of a Forestry Commission woodland
management plan to make sure it develops to provide a
diverse, sustainable habitat.
Alan Eves, Forest Management Director for Yorkshire Forest
District, Forestry England, added:
The holding ponds at Coatham Wood complement a range of
measures in place across the Forestry England estate.
Working in partnership with others enables us
collectively to provide catchment scale flood alleviation
that benefits local communities.
Addressing flood risk from the wider river catchment and
increasing resilience to flooding through working with
multiple agencies and the community has been the focus of a
European Union funded project called FRAMES which has run
alongside the Stockton scheme. Through this, The Tees
Rivers Trust has been working with the Environment Agency
and farmers to find opportunities for NFM measures.
It’s important residents understand their flood risk and
know what to do during a flood. For more information and to
sign up to receive free flood warnings visit
the prepare for flooding web
pages
