• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to footer

News and entertainment worth sharing – York and North Yorkshire

  • News
  • Things to do
  • Radio
  • More
    • Food & drink
    • Business
  • About
    • Comments
    • Advertise
    • Contact us
  • Radio
  • WIN
  • Tonne of tins
  • Vouchers
  • Listen live »
Around the World in 80 days - York Theatre Royal

‘Sort flood defences to stop York residents living in fear’

Sandbags and a pump at the junction of Clementhorpe and River Street in York on 22 January. Photograph: Cllr Jonny Crawshaw on Twitter
Tue 26 Jan, 2021 @ 12.08 pm News Chloe Laversuch - Local Democracy Reporter

Work on the flood defence scheme in Clementhorpe must start soon to ‘lift this fear’ from residents’ lives.

Many people living in the neighbourhood had a sleepless night on Thursday as the River Ouse was at risk of rising above 4.8 metres.

Fortunately it peaked at 4.6 metres – but councillor Jonny Crawshaw said he was angry that residents had to rely on temporary defences including sandbags and a pump when they were promised a permanent flood defence would be built by Christmas 2018.

Planning permission for the scheme was granted in June 2020 and the Environment Agency says work will begin as soon as possible.

Daniel Rust lives on River Street, where residents were offered evacuation to Covid-safe hotel rooms on Thursday night as river levels rose.

He said he does not know anyone who took up the offer, but that it was an anxious night with residents woken up by the sound of a faulty pump.

“The sandbag barrier is built to approximately 5 metres. When we heard that the river may peak at 4.8 metres we were very concerned that the dam could get overtopped and push over the sandbags, but it didn’t come to that as it peaked at 4.6 metres.”

Need a solution

Clementhorpe in the floods. Photograph: Cllr Jonny Crawshaw on Twitter

He said he understands the scheme has been controversial with some residents and will be disruptive while work is carried out, but said: “We need their help.

“We need a speedy resolution to lift this fear from the area. Even if work starts tomorrow we would still have 18 months until it is resolved.

“It will be 18 months of disruption, which we will put up with because of what will have been achieved at the end.

York Cycle Campaign
York Cycle Campaign #Ad

“The flood gate will be 5.7 metres – one metre above the peak level this week. We will never have to have this disruption again.”

He said residents spent six weeks “behind sandbags” last year due to three flood events.

He described the worry of living with the risk of flooding: “We know that if there is more than two days of rain in the Dales, we’re in trouble.

“We are always keeping an eye on the river and it sounds strange but we keep an eye on the houseboats as if they are buoys because it can be really nice weather in York but the river rises.

“The people living in houses at the Edwardian end of the street suffer most.

“We just don’t know what’s going to happen in the next two weeks.”

‘I’m really angry’

Jonny Crawshaw. Photograph: York Labour Party / YouTube

Cllr Crawshaw said it now looks unlikely the flood defences will be complete by Christmas 2021 as construction is due to take 18 months, meaning another winter of worry for residents.

He said: “I’m really angry about it. Imagine the stress of being told to prepare for evacuation. Residents have told me they barely slept last night – and yet this could have been avoided had the new defences been in place already.

“The Environment Agency have had five years to deal with this, there is no way they shouldn’t have broken ground by now.”

“Clementhorpe residents were promised a permanent flood defence would be built by Christmas 2018, then 2019, then 2020. It looks unlikely now that their flood defences will be ready before Christmas 2021.

“It simply isn’t good enough. Whatever the hurdles the Environment Agency may have faced, five years is more than enough time to have got over them!

“It’s not just Clementhorpe though – residents up near the Millennium Bridge were told they would also have a barrier built. Then it became Property Level Flood Resilience Measures which, we were told, would be much quicker to install. To date, I’m not aware of a single piece being delivered.”

The Environment Agency response

Ben Hughes, of the Environment Agency, said: “This is an incredibly complex area for flood defences and we continue to liaise with City of York Council to agree sign-off of the remaining planning conditions. And we have extensively consulted with many different interested parties to minimise the impact of the planned work.

“We are ready to begin construction of defences for this part of the York flood alleviation scheme. We aim to get under way as soon as possible following the current flooding.”

Tue 26 Jan, 2021

Footer

YorkMix
News 01904 848 766
Email YorkMix news »
5-6 King's Court, Shambles, York  YO1 7LD
YorkMix Radio
General enquiries 01904 375 029
Studio/competitions 01904 375 030
Email YorkMix Radio »
Selby Superbowl, Bawtry Road, Selby  YO8 8NA
YorkMix is a trading name of YorkMix Media Ltd
Registered in England
Company number: 07814727
VAT number: 154 0364 34
© York Sound Ltd

Copyright © 2023 YorkMix Media Ltd

We use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits. By clicking “Accept”, you consent to the use of ALL the cookies.
Cookie settingsACCEPT
Manage consent

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
Non-necessary
Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.
SAVE & ACCEPT