News

The Darley Abbey Society has been in consultation with the Environment Agency for the last five years over their proposals to strengthen the flood defences in the City as part of their Lower Derwent Valley Flood Defence Strategy. Due to budgetary restraints, its seems that the Environment Agency are not going to be able to fund this project themselves and have joined with the City Council to use the development potential of the area to deliver the improvements that are needed. The aim is to reduce the risk of flooding in any one year to less than 1%. The City Council and the Environment Agency have just published Our City Our River. This document sets out the detail of how the two authorities intend to protect the City and is open for discussion until 9th March.

2,150 properties in the City are currently at risk of being affected by one of these major flood events. In Darley Abbey, all properties east of the River would be affected, including the Mills.

The full report can be found at http://www.ourcityourriver.co.uk/downloads/OurCityOurRiverMasterplan.pdf

The Key points of the plan are:
20 year timescale to complete
Part funded by the private sector using the planning system
No high flood barriers in the City Centre
raising existing defences around the Darley Abbey Mills including walls and earth bunds.
A new pedestrian bridge over the River at Darley Abbey in a position still to be determined, as a means of escape if the Toll Bridge is flooded.
Flood gates at each end of the Toll Bridge.
Flood gates at each end of Haslam's Lane.

The report concludes that the works to be undertaken at Darley Abbey Mills are needed to offset the increase in flood levels that would be created by implementing the scheme in downstream areas, and to maintain the current standard of protection.
Therefore the opportunity is available to allow the existing defence level to be raised to provide protection to 1:100 levels. This would assist Derby City's regeneration aspirations for the Mills.