Widespread and substantial rain fell over West and North Yorkshire throughout November and December 2015.
On the 25th – 26th December heavy rainfall associated with Storm Eva saw the River Wharfe flowing at Tadcaster reach its highest ever recorded level on the town’s gauge (4.51m) and overtop the town’s existing flood defences.
In total 79 properties (36 homes and 43 businesses) in the town were flooded. However it was the collapse of the bridge and the closure of the A659, cutting the town in half, which saw images of Tadcaster shown in living rooms all over the UK.
This year (2023) we should know more about what will be done to stop a repeat of this.
In 2017 a review was conducted to help identify a potential new flood alleviation scheme that could reduce flood risk whilst being acceptable to the local community.
It came after a previous scheme was unsuccessful in obtaining planning permission in 2005. The review identified the cost of a suitable scheme to be in the region of £10 million.
There will be a public consultation on the proposed scheme and residents will be invited to participate early in 2023.
It’s hoped construction will begin in 2024 and be completed by the end of 2026, that will be 11 years since the incident.
There also needs to be a solution to the flooding in the main street that has been caused by the state of the drains too. Local Independent County Councillor. Kirsty Poskitt, wants Yorkshire Water to provide a solution to this scene, pictured below, from Feb 2022 too.
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Tadcaster Flood Alleviation Scheme Progress Update
The Environment Agency says: “We are now assessing a number of options available to protect Tadcaster from fluvial (river) flooding. The options identified are being reviewed against criteria including technical performance, cost, sustainability, health and safety, buildability, and environmental impact to identify those which can be taken forward for detailed appraisal.
“Some of the key areas being considered are potential alignments of the defences, particularly around the bridge, minimising visual impacts especially around the church, the height of defences required, and the types of defences which will offer the required standard of protection.
“We recognise that during construction there may be opportunities to enhance the local river environment where possible and have been consulting with our heritage and biodiversity specialists, local landowners, Councillors, and the Community Client Group to explore these further. This will be a key part of our consultation and we will be asking the community to help us explore ideas.”