Fenay Beck Flood-Alleviation Scheme

The paper describes flood detention and channel improvement schemes which have been designed to alleviate the flooding of domestic and industrial properties to a 50-year standard of protection. Landscape architects were incorporated into the design teams to cover environmental aspects.
The flood-detention dam would have been constructed mainly of colliery waste, and the design of the concrete horseshoe spillway and stilling basin was checked using a 1 : 40 physical model. River regulation would be by an automatic vertical gate activated by downstream water levels.
Following planning refusal, a channel-improvement scheme was adopted, which is presently under construction. Reduction in valley storage increased downstream flows, necessitating the enlargement of an old brick and concrete culvert within the ICI works to ensure that there were no detrimental effects within their boundary. An increased benefit/cost ratio of 3.46, as compared with 2.55 obtained for the detention scheme, was partly due to the application of new standards.