Bridge is flood defence focus

THE Environment Agency is set to commission a hydraulic study of the Uckfield High Street bridge to find ways of improving its river flow capacity.

This follows nearly two years after the disastrous town floods which saw 18 homes and 115 commercial and public buildings flooded, costing millions of pounds to repair.

In a report to the Sussex Flood Defence Committee on Wednesday, officers said: 'The prime cause of this flooding was the small capacity of the existing High Street bridge and the absence of any functional floodplain at this point.

'The river channel is constricted at Uckfield Mill and the High Street Bridge, limiting the channel capacity to 50-60m3/s.

'Given that the peak run-off flow was twice this amount on October 12, 2000, flooding was inevitable.

'The excess flows that flooded across the flood plain were, however, significantly obstructed by blocks of shops constructed on both sides of the High Street, and orientated across the flood plain'.

The Environment Agency examined a number of other strategies for Uckfield including a flood storage bund at Buxted, a two-stage channel through the town and a river bypass.

Work on the bridge was felt to be the most cost-effective.

It is likely to cost 770,000.

Flood defence manager Rupert Clubb said there were a number of problems at the bridge. The inlet was not efficient. A main sewer ran across the river, partially blocking the flow. And other services also ran under the bridge, again affecting the flow.

Feasible

The committee was told that an area for storing water above Uckfield was technically feasible but the cost would be enormous, far outweighing the benefits.

Cllr Roger Thomas suggested that a reservoir north of Uckfield might have a dual purpose of storing excess water in times of flood, and providing water during a drought.

Sussex flood manager Peter Midgeley said this had been looked into but there were no suitable places. The best ones, such as at Ardingly had already been taken.

The Agency would keep looking, however.

The recommended strategy between Buxted and Uckfield is:

l Continued management of the river, structures and flood plain to ensure they provide a sustainable drainage system without adverse impacts on riverside property..