BASS’S WRECK!
BUT IT WILL BE WORTH IT IN THE LONG TERM, SAYS COUNCIL AS FLOOD DEFENCE WORK CONTINUES
A LARGE section of a Derby park looks barely recognisable as major works to boost city flood defences continue.
Work is taking place at the Bass Recreation Ground, just off the city’s Cockpitt Island, where a new pumping station is being built between the city centre and the River Derwent.
The plans have also included the felling of around 70 trees, significantly altering the appearance of the site for the first time in a generation. The changes will have been seen by hundreds, or if not thousands, of motorists daily, with temporary fencing and a large crane on site.
The works are being managed by Derby City Council as part of its £95 million Our City Our River (OCOR) project which aims to improve flood defences across the city. The latest works follow a number of serious flooding incidents which have happened in Derby in recent years.
The council has described the new pumping station being built as “the last piece of the jigsaw on the west side of the river”. It says its completion “will leave the city centre with a flood defence system that will protect homes, businesses, and livelihoods”.
Environmental group Derby and South Derbyshire Friends of the Earth had raised concerns about the plans and considered mounting a legal challenge over the felling of the trees. But a threat to take the city council to court was later withdrawn by campaigners after planning permission was approved.
Some of the trees felled were the same ones that were due to be chopped down 24 years ago and were saved by campaigners when for 10 months they successfully occupied tents and trees on the Rec to stop up to 250 trees being felled to make way for Pride Parkway.
Derby City Council has previously said that the longterm benefits of the flood defences outweigh the loss of green space.
A statement accompanying planning approval said: “The extent of works proposed in this application are justified to facilitate the delivery of part of the Our City Our River scheme and the significant benefits it will provide to the city.
“Those flood risk benefits are deemed to outweigh the loss of green space that would arise within the district park, taking into account the scale of the development and its location.
“No adverse impacts are considered to arise for any heritage assets and no highway safety concerns are arising from the provision of the temporary access track.
“The removal of trees from the site and implications for biodiversity have been fully assessed with appropriate mitigation for replacement tree planting secured through conditions of planning permission. There are no wider environmental or amenity concerns arising.”
It is not clear yet when the works will be complete.
The park was given to Derby by benefactor Michael Bass, of the Bass Brewery. The land carries a covenant which restricts its use to “be forever used and enjoyed by the inhabitants of the Borough of Derby for a public play and recreation ground”.