The Bourn Flood Risk Management Scheme

The Environment Agency is investigating ways to reduce the risk of flooding from The Bourn. Flood events can be devastating and we want to work with the community to fully understand the issues, and the opportunities that investment in a flood risk scheme could also bring.

An Introduction to The Bourn FRMS

The Bourn and its tributaries, Griffin Brook and Wood Brook, run through Bournville parks and heavily urbanised areas before joining the River Rea in Stirchley. Following periods of intense rain this normally sedate river can overtop causing flash flooding to homes, businesses, and transport links in the Stirchley and Bournville areas. The Environment Agency is working with the community to find solutions to reduce the risk of river flooding in this area.

The most effective means to reduce flood risks is to slow the flow from upstream by capturing water in temporary flood storage areas. In an urban area there is limited opportunities to do this and we identified three locations: Weoley Hill Park, Valley Parkway and Manor Farm Park. Earlier last year Weoley Hill was ruled out due to the lack of space, and we progressed options within Valley Parkway and Manor Farm Parks.

Last summer we held public drop-in events at Stirchley Baths and St Lazars Hall which were very well attended. The comments, concerns, and suggestions regarding park usage and scheme design were compiled and shared with the design consultants, Jacobs, to ensure these important factors are fully understood and considered.

Over the autumn and winter, we’ve explored a multitude of options and gathered valuable insights to shape the best possible flood risk solution. We have evaluated the design constraints and considered all the valuable feedback we have received. This process has helped us understand what is – and isn’t – feasible, ensuring that any future scheme delivers real benefits.

Key decisions made:

• Valley Parkway – After consideration of numerous design options, we’ve concluded that temporary flood storage here would be too impactful on the park and not cost-effective. We have made the decision that we will not be pursuing this location for temporary flood storage, and no embankment or wall is proposed in this park.
• Manor House Drive flood wall – There were numerous challenges with the proposed flood wall and gate in this location, including cutting off Manor House Drive access in times of flood and the fact that any wall would not address the surface water flood risk in this area. We have concluded that Property Flood Resilience (PFR) measures could be a more effective solution for both surface and river flooding for properties. We have therefore decided not to build a wall and will assess PFR measures for this area at the appropriate time.
• Manor Farm Park – We are continuing to evaluate the temporary flood storage options at either of two embankment alignments: the upstream Great Meadow area and the downstream option along the current footpath alignment. Whilst Manor Farm Park alone won’t provide the level of protection originally hoped for, recent changes to funding rules may give more flexibility in the level of flood risk management and resilience measures that could be delivered.

Funding and Next steps

Funding for the project is uncertain. At present, we have funding to continue the project to the Outline Business Case stage. Additional funding will then be required to progress the project through to detailed design and delivery. Therefore, it is likely that progress will pause in the next financial year as further funding is sought.

The main aim in completing the Outline Business Case is to find a viable proposal that makes a meaningful difference to the communities suffering flood risk. Once we have established that there is a viable option, we will update this page with plans and visualisations whilst we explore further funding. We plan to engage with the community again when we know that there is funding available to progress the project.

You can contact us by email at TheBournFRMS@environment-agency.gov.uk.