Jackson Civil Engineering has started work on a £90,000 project to repair the flood assets at Hampton Bishop in Herefordshire.

The work includes the repair of the 3km long flood embankment of the River Lugg. The bank was overtopped by the river in the February floods when the Lugg reached its highest level ever recorded.

Storms Ciara, Dennis and Jorge caused extensive disruption and severe impacts with many areas flooded in February. Two severe flood warnings were in place at Hampton Bishop along the River Wye and River Lugg. The ground was already sodden from last autumn’s heavy rains and floods and the area quickly became flooded, with many rivers, including the River Wye at Hampton Bishop reaching the highest ever recorded levels. Despite this, our flood defences protected approximately 150 properties (residential and commercial) in Hampton Bishop, which otherwise would have flooded.

-- Advertisement --

The work at Hampton Bishop also includes repairs to the River Wye embankment.

Craig Barker, Project Manager for the Environment Agency, said: "Making sure our flood defences are in a good shape to protect communities is a priority for the Environment Agency. As part of the Hampton Bishop project, work has now started on repairing the flood embankment on the River Lugg to reduce the risk of flooding to the local area. We are expecting to have all of the work we are carrying out in this area completed by November 2020.

"Hampton Bishop is on the confluence of the River Wye and River Lugg, which both reached the highest levels ever recorded in February this year. Pressure was put on many of our flood defences caused by the high volume of water in both these rivers.

"Since then, whilst adhering to government guidance, we have been inspecting our defences to check for the need for repairs so we can ensure they are ready for any future floods. We have also used drone surveys to help with the process."