Months of disruption, but ‘significant benefits’: Flood defence plans for Museum Gardens revealed

Plans outlining flood defence work at Museum Gardens and the bottom of Marygate and Scarborough Bridge have been submitted.

A temporary construction compound will also be created in Marygate car park as part of the works.

Under the plans the existing flood embankment in Museum Gardens – between the Hospitium and the riverside – will be raised to about 11.12 metres high and extended to wrap around the eastern side of the Hospitium.

The application says the entrance to Museum Gardens from Marygate, and footpaths around the works, will be closed during construction. These works are due to take place between August and October 2021.

Initial work is set to start in February 2021 with the removal of some trees in Museum Gardens.

The scheme is due to be completed by next October. The construction base in Marygate car park is scheduled to be set up in April 2021.

Minimise the impact

The planning application says: “The scheme has been designed giving the upmost consideration to the surrounding environment including the built development, historic assets and landscape.

“The layout for raising and extending the embankment has been designed to minimise the potential effect on the historic assets along with the trees in Museum Gardens and surrounding landscape.”

Five to ten HGV journeys a day will bring soil and stones to the site to create the embankment, with access to the compound from Marygate.

Five trees will be planted for every one tree removed.

Documents say the Service Tree near the Hospitium is the rarest tree in Museum Gardens and “critically endangered”.

It adds: “The design has incorporated terracing to achieve a steeper narrower profile to fit between and retain the Hospitium and Service Tree.”

The flood gate at the bottom of Marygate will be upgraded and the height of the flood wall and gate on the east side of Scarborough Bridge will also be raised, as well as the flood wall and gates running along the front of Earlsborough Terrace.

The application says: “It is clear that the adverse impacts of the scheme are extremely limited and the benefits significant.”

“Therefore, the application should be approved without delay.”