Sheffield floods: Call for modern defences to save Lowfield after flood wall failures

The Sheaf and Porter Rivers Trust say the site of The Emporium antiques on Clyde Road should be turned into a tiered open space to absorb water.

Chair Simon Ogden said it was the best way to prevent homes and businesses on Broadfield Road and Lowfield from flooding.

The antiques shop is set to be demolished after storm water breached a wall to the rear of the premises and damaged foundations. A footbridge over the Sheaf was also damaged.

Five months on and a temporary flood barrier made of sandbags remains around the building and Clyde Road and River Sheaf Walk also remain closed.

Mr Ogden said the river had been “brutally” forced into a narrow, straight channel between 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 a new defence wall for an electricity substation on the opposite bank.

He said: “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.”

Similar flood mitigation schemes have been built on the Porter Brook at Matilda Street and on River Don at Nursery Street.

The Environment Agency had acknowledged the risk to businesses and homes on Broadfield Road, Lowfield and Chesterfield Road, he added.

Mr Ogden added: “We are looking to get a positive out of it with a flood defence that’s climate resilient and good for biodiversity.”

The Trust’s website states the riverside wall behind the new Jamia Masjid Mosque on Leyburn Road, off Abbeydale Road, collapsed in 2021. It is a quarter of a mile upstream from the Clyde Road collapse. A year later an adjacent section collapsed and was also rebuilt by the community, it states.

A photo by Simon Legge shows the Sheaf alarmingly near to the top of the defence wall on Broadfield Road.

An Environment Agency spokesperson said demolition would prevent The Emporium collapsing into the river and allow Clyde Road to reopen. The popular cut-through links Broadfield Road with Chesterfield Road under a railway bridge on Saxon Road.

If you’d like to receive more stories like this as well as the latest news from The Star, click here to subscribe to our free daily newsletter.

The spokesperson added: “Options for this site following demolition are still being considered. These are complex works and restoring the previous level of flood protection will take time.”

EA staff had visited Clyde Road with members of The Sheaf and Porter Rivers Trust, they added. And they were in talks with stakeholders including Sheffield City Council.

The EA would share timescales and costs after emergency works were complete and options for a permanent solution had been compiled.

Meanwhile, they would continue to send ‘Keeping You Informed’ newsletters to the local community.