£6m for flood works

A SERIES of projects to help protect homes and businesses near the River Frome from flooding has won £6 million in government funding.

The city council has been working with neighbouring South Gloucestershire Council, Wessex Water and the Environment Agency on the programme, now known as Resilient Frome.

There are six areas where work will be carried out over the next five years to help better protect areas in Bristol at risk of flooding and ensure any new building projects on 'brownfield' regeneration sites are safe.

Some of the projects in South Gloucestershire include creating new 'storage' ponds and woody dams to hold back flood water.

Near the mouth of the river, at the Floating Harbour, 'flow monitors' will help understand when there is a flood risk, with a regeneration project called Frome gateway near St Paul's.

Work on making sure developments on all parts of the river - which flows through Frenchay, Oldbury Court, Snuff Mills, Stapleton and Eastville Park before heading underground after passing under the M32 - minimise flood risks will also be carried out.

There will also be funding for sustainable drainage systems, or SUDs, to enable better management of rainwater to prevent surface water and sewer flooding and overflow discharges.

Council cabinet member for resilience and floods, Nicola Beech, said: "By working together across local authority borders, we can improve the entire catchment area at the same time as creating multiple benefits for Bristol’s residents and businesses."

The issue of untreated sewage entering the Frome through storm overflow drains recently sparked a political row in South Glos Council over whether to toughen rules on new surface water drain connections.