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Waterway could 'mitigate' flooding of major roads

Alex Pope/BBC Simon Clewlow, standing on a bridge, over water, with greenery in the back ground. He is looking at the camera and smiling and wearing a blue and white striped shirt and blue jacket.Alex Pope/BBC
Simon Clewlow said "I'm feeling very enthusiastic and very keen that the time for this project has come"

The chairman of a charity started 30 years ago to build a £300m waterway says "the time for this project has come" after heavy rainfall caused flooding and a major road to shut for two weeks.

Simon Clewlow, chairman of Bedford and Milton Keynes Waterway Trust (BMKW), said connecting the River Great Ouse in Bedford to the Grand Union Canal in Milton Keynes meant water could be held "where it is wanted".

He said the waterway park would "mitigate the impact of flooding and mitigate the impact of water shortages".

It would provide leisure activities as well as a chance for nature to "recover", he added. "We believe that the time for the waterway has come."

B&MKWT and Land Use Consultants An artists image of what a new waterway link way could look like by Wootton, Bedfordshire. It shows people paddling on a canal of water, greenery on the banks, wildlife and large buildings and a bridge in the background.B&MKWT and Land Use Consultants
An artists impression of what the waterway in Fields Road, Wootton, could look like

Mr Clewlow said some of the biggest issues over the past few weeks locally was "managing floodwater and surface water".

He explained one section could link Stewartby Lake with Brogborough Lake, which is less prone to flooding, "so it doesn't come down the Marston Vale and flood the A421".

It would hold "the water there until flood levels drop and released back to Stewartby Lake".

Part of the A421, by Marston Moretaine, in Bedfordshire, closed on 22 September for two weeks after a month's worth of rain fell in under 48 hours.

B&MKWT A stone bridge on the A421 in Bedfordshire with railings around it and grasses on the banks either side. There is a path with greenery underneath it. B&MKWT
In 2009, an underbridge was built under the A421 in readiness for the waterway

The chairman added that the scheme, which was initially due to cost £200m but had since risen to about £300m, had the support of the three council's it would pass through, namely, Bedford Borough, Central Bedfordshire and Milton Keynes.

The next stage is to build "a demonstration section of the waterway in the Wootton area of Bedford", he said.

He said the rest could be build in sections as some infrastructure was already in place and the scheme had been included in local planning applications.

B&MKWT The John Bunyan Community Boat on a trip on the River Great Ouse in Bedford, showing five men on the boat and a bridge and large buildings and greenery in the background.B&MKWT
The BMKW charity runs two boats, the John Bunyan, which navigates the River Great Ouse in Bedford, and Electra MK in Milton Keynes

"The project could be the game changer when it comes to enabling nature to recover it would provide a continuous thread through the three boroughs", Mr Clewlow said.

"We have the opportunity to mitigate the impact of flooding and mitigate the impact of water shortages, provide much more water resilience to everybody, not just within the area between Milton Keynes and Bedford but beyond and into Cambridgeshire."

Alex Pope/BBC High water levels on the River Great Ouse at Kempton Mill, Bedfordshire, showing a sign that says Public Footpath to Bedford and trees and bushes along the riverbank.Alex Pope/BBC
The water levels of the River Great Ouse by Kempton Mill, have been higher than normal due to the recent floods

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