Overview

Updated 8 April 2024

This page provides a latest update, a summary of our work and the background to the project which aims to reduce flooding to homes, businesses and infrastructure in the Woodford and Ilford areas, as well as how we plan to improve the River Roding for people and wildlife

Latest project progress

The diagram below shows the latest milestones which have been met to enable construction of the flood storage area to begin.

We have now signed the contract with our delivery partner, BAM Nuttall, who will be delivering the project on the ground.

Some work has started on site to clear vegetation and implement access points so that construction can commence.

We have published a series of FAQs for the project – linked at the bottom of this page. We will review and update these throughout the next project phase.

We now have a dedicated project email address for the project which can be seen in the contact details on the right hand side of this page.

We have created some tailored briefing notes which were sent out to our mailing list for the project in early March. Copies of these can be found at the bottom of this page – one for the Shonks Mill area affected by the storage area construction, and one for the Woodford and Ilford areas who will benefit from the storage area.

What's next?

The diagram below shows the high level activities which will take place within the first 6 months of the flood storage area construction programme.

We will update this diagram regularly as the project progresses. We expect to complete the construction in 2026.

This page will be reviewed every 3 months and updated as necessary

Background

The River Roding Project will reduce flooding to residential properties, commercial properties and infrastructure in the Woodford and Ilford areas.

The project includes building a flood storage area (FSA) on the River Roding, upstream of the M25, at Shonks Mill Bridge. The FSA will allow the river to flow naturally most of the time, however in times of high flows, water will build up and be stored behind the earth embankment creating a temporary reservoir, reducing the risk of flooding downstream. This will then drain naturally back into the river as flows reduce.

The project also includes refurbishing a flood embankment downstream in Woodford to withstand the estimated impacts of climate change.

The diagram below shows how the FSA will work. In times of high flows, flood water will be held behind the impoundment structure (earth embankment) while a controlled flow will be able to pass through the structure, reducing the flow downstream.

Public Right of Way Diversion

To build the flood embankment, we will have to permanently divert the public footpath 'Stanford Rivers 47' around the earth embankment. The below map shows the original route and the new proposed route around the embankment. If you use this footpath or have any comments about how we will divert it, please get in touch.

The embedded pdf below shows the proposed change to the footpath. The dashed blue line represents the current footpath, the brown line the proposed new route and the red line shows the proposed footpath to be removed.

Why are we doing these works?

There has been an increased frequency of flood events over the past 20 years. The most serious flood in recent decades occurred in October/November 2000. Over 400 homes in Woodford were flooded, there was widespread disruption to local infrastructure and major roads (including Charlie Browns roundabout) were closed for over a week. Climate change data shows that the frequency and intensity of such events will increase over the coming years, so it is important we reduce the impact of flooding on the local area.

As well as the economic damage that occurs after a flood event, flooding also has an impact on peoples' wellbeing. Flooding often causes financial stress, disruptions to daily life and can impact peoples' mental health.

As part of this project, we aim to also improve the environment to encourage people to enjoy the environment and promote a healthier lifestyle to help improve wellbeing for local communities.

Pictured above: Aerial photograph of the Roding flooding in December 2019, taken by a local resident

Pictured above: Photo taken during the floods in 2000.

Please note our proposals will reduce the risk of flooding and climate change impact but will not eliminate the risk altogether.