Boxing Day floods – the official verdict

Work is well under way to design and commission defence measures to prevent a repeat of last year’s unprecedented Boxing Day floods.

Council leaders have given this assurance on the day that a Greater Manchester report is published into the events caused by Storm Eva.

Boxing Day 2015 saw the most widespread flooding ever experienced in the conurbation. Many rivers reached record levels with some recording levels over 1 metre higher than previously recorded. Within Bury the River Irwell burst its banks in Summerseat, Ramsbottom and Radcliffe.

The multi-agency report provides a factual account of the contributing factors, impacts and responses to the flooding and it also includes a number of recommendations on how to manage future flood risk, which will require the involvement of a number of organisations and communities working together in partnership.

The full report can be read on the Greater Manchester Combined Authority’s website www.greatermanchester-ca.gov.uk/downloads/file/199/boxing_day_flood_report_2015

The report found that a combination of prolonged average rainfall, saturated catchments, rapidly responding rivers and heavy showers on and around Boxing Day resulted in an extremely rapid onset of flooding. The sheer speed of rivers’ response made the flooding very difficult to predict, and placed a huge strain on the relevant authorities and responders and on their ability to co-ordinate pre-emptive activities.

The main points for Bury are:

1. In Bury 808 locations were affected and 3,200 homes were left without power as a result of the floods.

2. The River Irwell and River Roch were at their highest recorded level. The level at Blackford Bridge was 1.1m higher than any other reading in its 64 years of records. The recording gauge at Pioneer Mill was washed away.

3. The parts of the borough where the most properties were flooded were South Bury/North Radcliffe (from the River Irwell), but there was significant surface water flooding in Ramsbottom and culvert overloading in Tottington and Black Lane.

4. The emergency response on the day was good. An emergency refuge was set up at Castle Leisure Centre. Dangerous structures and bridges were closed and taped off. There was no loss of life or major injuries.

5. Preventing a repeat event in Radcliffe and Redvales will require the construction of major flood defences along the Irwell. Outline proposals were drawn up in 2014 but these are now being reviewed in the light of the Boxing Day event. Following detailed design and confirmation of funding it is hoped construction will start in 2019.

6. Reducing flood risk in Ramsbottom needs further investigation as on Boxing Day there was a complex interaction of river, surface water, culverts and historic water channels.

7. Since Boxing Day the council has provided financial support to residents and businesses and has worked with them to help implement flood resilience measures in their properties. Some 106 payments worth £187,000 were made to businesses, 462 residents were given a £500 grant (total £231,500) and 169 resilience grant applications of up to £5,000 were received from residents and businesses.

8. The council, the Environment Agency and other partners have also worked with the National Flood Forum to help Radcliffe and Ramsbottom residents to establish local flood action groups.

Councillor Rishi Shori, leader of Bury Council, said: “I want to place on record my thanks to the council staff, ‘blue light’ officers and communities who responded so magnificently to the floods both on Boxing Day itself and in the days, weeks and months afterwards.

“We know we can never eliminate the risk of flooding entirely but, working with partners such as the Environment Agency, we are doing everything we can to learn from previous events to better protect people in the future.

“The council has already committed to providing considerable funding to help ensure that the Radcliffe and Redvales Flood Defence scheme is delivered as quickly as possible and we have also helped to secure £1m of funding from the North West Flood Management Committee towards the scheme.

“This is a multi-million pound, and hugely complex, scheme and it will take time to design and deliver but I can assure people that work is under way and this scheme will become a reality.”

Mike Owen, the council’s chief executive who also led the Greater Manchester wide response to the floods, added: “Our first thoughts at this time, and as always, are for the families and businesses who suffered so much from the floods.

“Local authorities, the Environment Agency and United Utilities have worked together to support affected communities and understand what happened.

“Although the purpose of this report is to provide a factual account of the contributing factors, impacts and responses to the flooding, it does also include a number of recommendations on how to manage future flood risk, and a wide range of organisations and communities are already working together in partnership to explore local options to improve resilience against the effects of flooding.”

ENDS