FLOODED homes should be a thing of the past for residents in one Worcester street.
The mood is buoyant for those living in Toronto Close after the Environment Agency completed a £2.5million flood risk management scheme which includes flood gates.
Residents living in the street in the Lower Wick area of Worcester have experienced devastating floods in both 2007 and 2020.
Flooding from the River Severn and River Teme impacts the water level of the nearby Laughern Brook during and after heavy rainfall.
In July 2007 16 properties flooded, with the depth of water reaching up to 800mm. Further flooding took place in 2020 during Storm Dennis, when many residents had to evacuate their homes.
Now the risk of this happening again should be significantly reduced.
The new flood risk scheme consists of an embankment across open land and through residential gardens along Laughern Brook as well as the strengthening and rebuilding of the existing historic wall along Old Road.
Two flood gates have been installed in front of existing accesses from Toronto Close onto Old Road. These gates will normally be open, and only closed in the event of a flood.
And the new scheme has been welcomed by Toronto Close residents.
Ray Grundy has lived in the street with his wife since 1980 and for the first 27 years they didn’t experience flooding. It was in July 2007 when flooding hit, following a wet summer.
Ray explained: “It had been very wet all through June and then we had more than 24 hours of solid rain and the water kept rising. Our house is slightly higher than some others in the street so fortunately we didn’t flood inside but we’ve had water coming up to the house.
“It was much worse for neighbours who had catastrophic floods inside and had the devastation of having to move out and stay in temporary accommodation away from the close while their homes were refurbished.”
Another flood hit the road in 2020 leading to further evacuations and more disruption for residents. Ray said the completed scheme has given the residents of Toronto Close peace of mind.
He added: “It means for the first time we can now go away on holiday during the winter and not have to worry if we are going to flood. Everyone is feeling more relaxed.”
