Village on banks of Humber is given £5.2m defences to guard against flood

A VILLAGE on the banks of the Humber which suffered widespread flooding in the tidal surge five years ago has had new £5.2m flood defences installed.

The two phases of work on the defences at Paull, east of Hull, are now complete, cutting the risk of flooding to 1,500 homes.

The most recent work involved putting in 2,700 tonnes of rock armour to help absorb the energy of waves from the river, installing new flood gates at the village’s boat compound and raising the embankment both sides of a half-a-kilometre long glass tidal wall.

One of the innovative aspects of the Paull project was that the defences were designed using a physical 3D scale model, which was tested in various storm surge scenarios.

More than half the funding for the work in the village – which was once known for its shrimp fishery – came via the Humber LEP’s Growth deal with the Government.

The Humber LEP’s chairman Lord Haskins said: “This is exactly the kind of innovative project we need to reduce the risk of flooding to homes and businesses along the Humber, and support future sustainable growth.”

Work is due to begin later this year on a massive £42.5m project, aiming to replace or upgrade defences along a four-mile stretch of the River Humber, from Paull to Hessle.

An unprecedented £200m is being invested in flood defence schemes in Hull and the East Riding in the 2015-2021 spending review.