Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, when the accumulated silt which blocks at least two of the arches under English bridge, Shrewsbury, will be removed; what steps he plans to take in relation to the two islets immediately below the English bridge which did not exist four years ago; whether temporary flood barriers of the type that has proven effective in Ironbridge and elsewhere will be provided for Coton Hill/Chester Street; what plans he is developing for a longer term solution to the flooding and whether plans similar to the Dee Regulation Scheme are part of those considerations; and whether the levels in the Vyrnwy and Clywedog dams will be lowered in the autumn period to allow additional capacity for storage of water in the winter period.

The Severn Valley Flood Risk Management Scheme has been granted £10 million to formulate a long-term holistic plan for the management of the Upper Severn catchment. This work will consider sustainable approaches to the management of the catchment from a variety of perspectives, including flood risk, water resources and the natural environment.

In the short to medium term the Environment Agency (EA) will continue to investigate the potential for flood risk management schemes for areas of Shrewsbury that are impacted by flooding. Work is progressing on the next phase of developing options for further assessment. The EA continues to deliver its annual routine maintenance programme for the River Severn and its tributaries, helping to ensure the flood risk is being effectively managed.

Shropshire Council is responsible for maintaining the bridges in Shrewsbury and, in conjunction with the EA, uses its permissive powers to reduce vegetation and remove obstructions around the English Bridge to prevent obstruction to flood flows. Whilst it is not sustainable, cost effective or a benefit to flooding to remove all the silt from the arches on the English Bridge, this management technique loosens the silt around the bridges so it can be transported by the river. Work of this nature was undertaken in spring 2021 at English Bridge and further work will be completed before autumn to reduce vegetation.

Historically there have always been islands downstream of the English Bridge due to the nature and shape of the channel and flows within it. Flood modelling has shown that complete removal of these islands would not result in any significant reduction in flooding.

The EA works in partnership with Natural Resources Wales (NRW) and Hafren Dyfrdwy to manage the water level of Vyrnwy and Clywedog reservoirs, together with United Utilities in the case of Lake Vyrnwy. Their primary function is public water supply. Their active management includes lowering of water levels from the autumn through to the spring to reduce the incidence of spill and provide some flood risk benefits downstream. The reservoirs are at the head of the catchment and play a very minor role in terms of mitigating flood risk to communities such as Shrewsbury and Ironbridge, with the vast majority of river flow originating from the catchments downstream of the reservoirs.