South Tyneside Council Reverse v3 200220 185303

Monkton Flood Alleviation

Project value: £2.5 million

Sector: Coastal & Flood

Spend within 20 miles of site: 53%

Supply chain spend with SMEs: 100%

Materials diverted from landfill: 98%

Onsite training days delivered: 13

NVQ completions by onsite staff: 3

The whole project is an excellent example of agencies coming together to provide a long term sustainable solution to the issue of surface water flooding in this community."

Councillor Joan Atkinson

Lead Member for Area Management and Community Safety | South Tyneside Council

South Tyneside Council commissioned the Monkton Flood Alleviation Scheme to help control the flow of surface water, diverting it away from the local residents and businesses, which had been badly affected in the past.

The project provides an increased level of protection for properties as well as greater peace of mind for local people with the added benefit of an enhanced local environment.

The scheme was delivered by Balfour Beatty via our Civil Engineering framework, to put measures in place to tackle surface water flooding in areas including Monkton Burn, Lukes Lane Estate and the Leam Lane area.

Hebburn South is predominantly a residential area with large open areas.

Reports of flooding in the area date back to 2005, with regular flooding, either sewer or surface water. In 2012 significant flooding occurred in the area affecting 113 properties as well as significantly disrupting local roads in the area which became impassable for several hours.

A result of a survey undertaken by South Tyneside Council and Northumbrian Water, approximately 100 properties in the Monkton and Hebburn area were identified as ‘at risk of flooding’ at or above the 1 in 75 year threshold.

To help protect homes and businesses in Monkton and Hebburn from surface water flooding, Balfour Beatty led a multi-agency approach to developing the flood alleviation scheme combined with a Living Waterways scheme to daylight a section of the Bede Burn water course.

This collaboration delivered a larger, more attractive wildlife area than could have been delivered by parties working separately.

To ensure design options mitigated the greatest risks, modelling was undertaken using varying storm durations over multiple event scenarios. The options for reducing flood risk were based on the principals of reducing surface water inputs, storing and slowing the flow of surface water, storing and slowing the flow of fluvial flows and using swales to intercept overland surface water.

Works included:

Installation of new highway drainage
Installation of swales to catch surface run off
Creation of retention basins

Through Early Contractor Involvement and close collaboration embedded within the SCAPE approach, the client secured approximately £550,000 worth of value-engineered savings.

The scheme not only provided residents and local schools with peace of mind, but the area has also benefited from an enhanced, green space, rich in wildlife, which residents were actively involved in creating.

The use of natural flood protection measures, such as tree planting, and creating natural habitats such as wetlands, help to reduce the impact of flooding, whilst creating fewer carbon emissions compared to more traditional methods.

The work took around 12 months to complete and provides an increased level of protection, helping to control the flow of surface water by diverting it away from properties and businesses that have been affected by flooding in the past.

In June 2019, the scheme was awarded a top Sustainability award at the Flood and Coast Project Excellence Awards.

Read our report – Flood Defences for the Future

100%

spend within 40 miles of site

100%

of supply chain were SMEs

job opportunities created onsite