Broads villagers feel 'abandoned' as flooding fears mount

The Environment Agency has said it would be unviable to remove sediment from the lower Bure due to the huge costs of the dredging work.

This is despite many believing that the section of river has become silted up and is subsequently causing problems upstream.

It had been hoped that dredging could help alleviate the widespread flooding that was seen last year in badly affected villages like Potter Heigham, Ludham and Hickling. Many locals had regarded it as being the worst they had lived through.

But now people suffering from the high water - which has cost firms hundreds of thousands of pounds in lost revenue - are wondering what the future may hold as few other solutions have been put forward.

Flooding in Martham last year (Image: Mike Page)

It has led to fears Broads communities could face a similar fate to Hemsby - a coastal village that is disappearing into the sea due to coastal erosion.

People living there have recently been told sea defences will be too expensive to install. 

Now the people living in the Broads communities afflicted by floods are left wondering if their homes and businesses will succumb to the sea in the coming decades if nothing is done. 

After the wettest 18 months on record, people living and working in these low-lying villages are already fearing the worst as winter approaches.

The Nippy Chippy in Potter Heigham which is being run by Paige Heathcote and her partner Liam Chipperfield. (Image: Sonya Duncan)

HIGH ALERT

Paige Heathcote, who runs Nippy Chippy in Potter Heigham with her partner Liam Chipperfield, says they had to shut for nearly a month last year due to being flooded.

The couple warned they may have to shut the business altogether if the situation did not improve. 

She said: "We are very concerned for this year. Although the river hasn't burst its banks it is still affecting us as the water table is so high - our extraction system keeps getting flooded.

"We need to see something happen, we feel a bit abandoned."

The shop is planning to reopen tomorrow (Image: Contributed)

The chip shop sits next to Potter Heigham Bridge - a medieval river crossing that is notorious for being tricky to navigate under.

High water is badly affecting boat firms in the area due to being unable to get under.

Judith, one of Martham Boats' vessels passing through Potter Heigham bridge (Image: Martham Boats)

Robin Richardson, who runs the Phoenix Fleet years with his brother Patrick, reported that they have lost £750,000 in lost revenue.

He said: "From my point of view, it means they have made a conscious decision to allow businesses and properties and livelihoods to be flooded.

"We used to make about 12,500 trips piloting boats under the bridge but last year we made one. Motor cruisers can no longer reach Hickling."

George Elliott, of Ludham Bridge Boatyard, has been under water for months (Image: Ludham Bridge Boatyard)

George Elliot, who runs the Ludham Bridge boat yard about five miles southeast on the River Ant, added: "We have been abandoned. The flooding has been the worst we have had but nothing seems to have been done about it.

"It is really affecting my wellbeing, having to wade through water for months and the impact it is having on my business.

"Some serious questions need to be asked about the future of the Broads, we are being forgotten."

Dredging on the River Bure (Image: Broads Authority)

DREDGING DILEMMA

The Environment Agency (EA) has just completed a six-month probe that used modelling technology to assess whether dredging the Lower Bure would help alleviate flooding upstream.

It was triggered following speculation that the Bure Hump - a 1.5-mile stretch of the river just before it reaches Yarmouth where it flows into the Yare - had become silted up, restricting the flow of water out into the sea. 

The Bure Hump - a 1.5km stretch of the River Bure - has reportedly become silted up, restricting the flow of water out to sea (Image: Denise Bradley)

Many people on the Broads have suspected that a build-up of silt means the rivers upstream cannot empty quickly enough, leading to flooding on the northern rivers, especially at places like Potter Heigham, Hickling, Horning and Wroxham.

The study concluded that dredging would allow a greater transfer of water through the Bure Loop. It could reduce flood depths in the Upper Thurne by between 5cm to 10cm.

However, the EA concluded that the dredging would cost as much as £4.6m and said it makes the project unviable and that the work would likely be ineligible for government funding.

In addition, dredging could also harm the environment due to greater volumes of saltwater flowing in with the tide which is harmful to freshwater fish and other wildlife in the Broads.

The 24-hour moorings downstream of Potter Heigham Bridge at low tide (Image: Robin Richardson)

BROADS UNDER THREAT

Rising seawater is posing a huge problem for the future of the Broads, threatening the fragile freshwater ecosystems it supports as well as homes and livelihoods.

The effects of tidal locking - when raised sea levels stop rivers from draining out to sea - is also a major cause of flooding in the Upper Thurne catchment, which is exacerbated by torrential rain.

Richard Price, county councillor for South Smallburgh (Image: Newsquest)

Richard Price, county councillor for the area, said: "If the Broads is to survive, we need to find a way to get water out to sea. No one has come up with a viable solution yet.

"There needs to be huge capital investment. What Norfolk faces today, other places in the country will face tomorrow."

FIGHTING FOR FUNDS

The Norfolk Strategic Flood Alliance (NSFA), a multiagency group set up to form a united front against the threat of flooding, is seeking to lobby the government to get more support for Norfolk.

Rob Kelly, water management director at Norfolk Strategic Flood Alliance (Image: Owen Sennitt)

It wants to see the government change its funding criteria for flood defences, which it believes is too focused on the number of houses projects may help rather than also businesses and the economy.

The situation is similar to Hemsby, which campaigners say contributes millions to the economy through its tourism offer but was refused funding for sea defences. 

Rob Kelly, water management director, said: "People will be very disappointed about the findings of the report. It says dredging will make a difference but it will not be viable.

"NSFA will lobby hard to see what we can do.

"We are hoping to get Norfolk on a level playing field with the rest of the country.

"Funding criteria is focused on the number of chimney pots but this neglects to consider the harm on businesses, farmers, and the effect on tourism - all major contributors to the economy."