'Brutal' £8m flood defence walls set to protect Sheffield community from storms due to climate change
“Our current priority is to complete the interim emergency works to reduce the risk of flooding to the community.”
£8m flood walls are set to protect a Sheffield community from storms due to climate change.
A huge building project is nearing completion on the River Sheaf at Broadfield Road after nearly a year.
Popular rat-run Clyde Road is set to reopen by the start of autumn nearly two years after initial damage, the Environment Agency says.
A storm in October 2024 saw the River Sheaf breach a defence wall below The Emporium antiques shop on Clyde Road.
The Environment Agency demolished the shop as part of plans to rebuild the wall and had hoped to complete last year.
But Storm Claudia in November damaged defences below an electricity substation on the other side of the river in mid-November, pushing back timescales and the reopening of Clyde Road.
Now the agency says they hope to open Clyde Road by the start of autumn and complete repairs by the end of November.
A spokesperson said: “The interim emergency works that we started in October 2024 are expected to have cost in the region of £8m, which includes the purchase of the property that was necessary for the works to be carried out.
“Our current priority is to complete the interim emergency works to reduce the risk of flooding to the community.
“A future project will be delivered to complete the reinstatement of the site.”
The Sheaf and Porter Rivers Trust had called for a pocket park to prevent Lowfield and Heeley Bottom from flooding.
Previously, chair Simon Ogden said the site should be turned into tiered open space to absorb water.
He said the river had been “brutally” forced into a narrow, straight channel between flood walls all the way along Broadfield Road, increasing its speed and power.
It “rams” into a sharp bend below the Emporium and was further concentrated in 2021 by the reinforcement of a defence wall for an electricity substation on the opposite side, he said.
He said in March: “It’s the opposite of a modern defence scheme. The river hits the wall on the bend and has been undermining it as the weather becomes more extreme.
“I am very sympathetic to the businesses that have been forced out.
“It’s a serious issue that has to be resolved and we would like to see more room for the river in the form of a pocket park, rather than vertical walls, softer edges and a rougher channel to reduce energy. It would also be better for the environment and wildlife.”