Hessle Foreshore Tidal Defence Scheme Plans To Go On Public Display

Residents are being invited to a public exhibition this month about the latest plans for the Hessle Foreshore Tidal Defence Scheme.

East Riding of Yorkshire Council will be updating residents about its £11m scheme at a drop-in event held at Hessle Town Hall on Thursday 23 January from 9am to 6pm.

The project, which includes the construction of a glass and concrete wall along a section of Hessle Foreshore, is designed to reduce the risk of flooding to more than 4,000 homes and businesses in the Hessle and West Hull areas.

Staff from the council’s civil engineering services and flood risk strategy teams will be at the exhibition, alongside representatives from the Environment Agency and Hull City Council, to answer any questions and give a better understanding of the proposals.

The work is being jointly funded with grants from the Environment Agency (FDGiA), the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (ERDF) and the Humber Local Enterprise Partnership’s Local Growth Fund Programme.

Chris Matthews, East Riding of Yorkshire Council’s portfolio holder for strategic management, said: “We want to keep residents informed on the latest details of the tidal defence scheme before we begin construction on the next stage.

“We hope people will come along, speak to our engineers and give their views on this vital investment project which will make a difference to so many people and businesses when it’s complete.”

Work on the first section of the scheme has now started with the construction of a 600m long, 1 metre-high concrete barrier along the westbound stretch of the A63 Clive Sullivan Way, which is being carried out by Highways England

The next stages, which will be carried out by East Riding of Yorkshire Council, will include:

The construction of a 1-metre-high glass and concrete wall along the southern side of Cliff Road, Hessle. The wall will include flood gates at various points which can be closed during a tidal surge event.
The raising of the road under the Humber Bridge to tie in with the concrete barrier as it passes under the bridge.
Improvements to the sluice structure on the Fleet Drain at Hessle Clough, including raising the existing wall by one meter to reduce the risk of overtopping during a tidal surge.

Hessle Foreshore is a low lying area which suffered significant flooding in the tidal surge of December 2013. There was internal flooding to 40 residential and 44 commercial properties, up to one metre in depth.
Predictions suggest that such flooding events are likely to happen more often in the future, because of increases in sea levels caused by climate change.

Extensive flood modelling has been undertaken which shows that a larger area is at risk of tidal flooding, therefore putting more properties at risk.

The Hessle Foreshore Tidal Defence Scheme aims to reduce the risk of flooding caused by tidal surges in Hessle and West Hull over the next 50 years.

The project would also reduce the risk of flooding to the A63, a major trunk road in and out of Hull, as well as the main Hull railway line, electrical substations, and water and sewerage facilities.