Criticised £20m flood wall 'was effective' in storm
Flood defences which cost £20m and were criticised after homes and a businesses were deluged in a storm on Merseyside "worked as intended" and "limited the damage", a review has found. Waves spilled over the West Kirby sea wall during Storm Pierrick on 9 April last year.It resulted in staff at Tanskeys Bistro being evacuated by the RNLI, damage to some properties and cars and people being trapped inside their homes. There were calls for a "full and frank investigation" into the effectiveness of the defences, but a review carried out by Wirral Council and the Environment Agency said that the "overtopping was not unexpected" and the wall had broken "the energy of the waves".
The seafront defences were completed in 2023 and Liberal Democrat councillor Stuart Kelly claimed the wall had failed "so spectacularly" during the storm.But the review said it was clear the storm was "a significant event which resulted in extreme sea levels" and "extreme wave heights" which data suggests "likely met the limit of or exceeded the design standard for the new flood wall at West Kirby", the Local Democracy Reporting Service reported.It said the three homes flooded were at a location where the flooding was deepest and would have benefited from property level protection like some of their neighbours.However no flood warning was issued for West Kirby with the council report adding: "Public expectations that the wall would prevent all flooding may have been a factor in not utilising property level protection." The report said: "The overtopping that occurred as a result of the conditions on the day is therefore not unexpected. "The new defences, however, limited the damage that would have otherwise occurred had they not been built."The new flood wall worked as intended in breaking the energy of the waves and retaining an extreme mean sea level on the seaward side of the wall."
'Vindication of investment'
There are three remaining recommendations in the report yet to be completed:Taking measures to manage flood risk to the roadSecondary defences at the entrances of Coronation GardensRaising awareness of the design limitations to any flood defence and that there may still be risksCouncillor Liz Grey said the flood alleviation scheme had done its job. "The damage caused to other areas, including other parts of Wirral, showed the extremity of the conditions so for properties in West Kirby to be impacted in a relatively minor way is vindication of the investment," she said.She added she was "heartened" to read testimonies from some local residents who said they "felt safer and more protected from the event" as a result of the flood wall.
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