Shropshire Council considers £100m flood defence scheme

A £100m water management scheme could be built alongside a new relief road to prevent "many thousands" of homes being hit by future flooding.

Shropshire Council's cabinet has been urged to support the measures north of Shrewsbury amid fears over rising river levels.

Proposals include the £100m scheme to include an embankment in the north west relief road plans.

Hundreds of homes in the county were hit by storms in February.

The project, which has secured more than £70m of funding, could see a "water-retaining" embankment included in the plans for the relief road.

This would reduce the risk for communities along the River Severn, south of Shrewsbury, according to the report.

An alternative proposal also being considered would see a dam built further upstream, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

The authority's director of place Mark Barrow said both proposals needed detailed work to "assess their suitability".

The county has received claims for flood-related grants from 438 homes and 418 businesses, the report said.

It also revealed that during the floods' peak its customer service centre averaged 23,000 calls a day, instead of its usual volume of about 2,500.

And with river levels estimated to rise by 85cm by 2050, the report calls for action.

"In that context and left unaddressed, future flooding events could affect many thousands more properties, businesses and communities not previously affected," Mr Barrow said.

"In that sense relying on the measures currently in place and taking an ad-hoc localised approach to river defences is not sustainable."

The cabinet is due to meet on 7 September.

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