Flood defences a great investment
BEAUMARIS’ new coastal defence scheme has already proved its worth during the recent wet weather, Natural Resources Minister Carl Sargeant said during a visit to the island on Thursday.
The Minister was in town to officially open the £1.4m scheme which reduces the risks from flooding to over 100 residential and 43 commercial properties as well as the town’s main road link.
£907,000 was provided by the Welsh Government for the scheme, with a further £333,000 provided by the European Regional Development Fund.
The defences in Beaumaris will allow improved long-term planning for the town and provide opportunities for regeneration.
The Minister said: “It is good to hear reports of this scheme performing well already. I understand that during the December storms, water rose above the pre- vious defence levels on the green. This means that without this investment the wall would have been overtopped and flooding would have occurred.
“I am pleased that we were able to support this scheme with £907,000 of funding and I also very much appreciate the contribution of the European Regional Development Fund.
“We have just witnessed our wettest December since records began. Despite this, we have not seen widespread flooding in Wales which might have been expected thanks to our investment in flood schemes across the country, such as this one, doing exactly what they were designed to do.
“While last December was an exceptional period of rainfall we must acknowledge that because of our changing climate, such weather events are happening more frequently.
“That is why flood and coastal risk management remains a key priority for the Welsh Government.
“Over the lifetime of this government we are investing over £240 million in flood and coastal erosion risk management, supported by an additional £47 million from Europe.”
The town’s coastal defence scheme consists of a new 260m long wall at the eastern end of the Green as well as a 460m wall with wave return along the A545.