First tonnes of clay on the way - video (From Worcester News)

First tonnes of clay on the way - video

9:00am Thursday 7th August 2008 in Video By Richard Vernalls, @rvernallsWN #worcsnews

NEW £650,000 flood defences in Worcester are taking shape after the first batch of clay was delivered to the river bank in Hylton Road.

The clay was transported by barge to the west bank of the river Severn just yards downstream of Sabrina Bridge yesterday.

The 150-tonne delivery is the first of about 40 loads which will form the core of the permanent flood bank stretching upstream from the footbridge along to the first house on the bank.

The Environment Agency has recycled the clay from contractors in Upton-upon-Severn, who are extending the town’s marina, and is hoping to reduce the project’s carbon footprint by not moving the loads by lorry.

About 12,000 tonnes of clay will be delivered in the next few weeks with the completed bank and connected brick wall protecting 13 homes, businesses and helping to keep Hylton Road open in all but the most severe floods.

Lesley Bond, who lives yards from the construction site, has seen her home devastated twice by flooding in the past eight years.

She went along to watch the barge moor at the riverside from Sabrina Bridge.

Mrs Bond said: “I am ecstatic. It’s something I have been waiting for a long time.”

Mary Dhonau, Worcester Action Against Flooding chairman and chief executive of the National Flood Forum, said: “We had to come and watch the barge arrive.

“Hylton Road is the main artery for Worcester and when it shuts the whole of the city becomes grid-locked.”

Engineers have already prepared much of the site and can now start stripping topsoil and infilling with the clay.

The bank will rise up from the ground over the next few weeks as earthmovers layer the clay, which is then rolled, to build a highly water-resistant bank.

Phil Foxley, Environment Agency project manager, said: “It’s going very well and this is the next major milestone for the project. The residents have been very supportive. It’s not often you get so much goodwill on such a scheme.”

Mike Foster, Worcester’s MP, said the barge’s arrival was a “big step forward” for Worcester and its flood victims.