Why has the partnership come together?

A pioneering and transformational partnership bringing together multiple organisations, resources and skills to drive resilient and sustainable economic growth along Britain’s longest river network, delivering an innovative programme of environmental infrastructure and creating the Severn Regional Growth Zone.

Communities along the River Severn have a long history of flooding. Significant floods in recent decades have caused damage to homes and businesses, as well as impacting local infrastructure and disrupting travel.

Most recently, flooding in February 2020 resulted in approximately 1600 homes being flooded across the Severn catchment. Whilst existing Environment Agency (EA) flood risk management assets and schemes prevented 14,500 homes from being flooded, there are still communities and urban centres that remain at risk.

Whilst the impacts of flooding can be dramatic, there have also been a number of periods in recent years where measures have had to be put in place to manage the effects of a lack of water, as a result of prolonged dry weather.

Water availability has been closely monitored and managed to ensure a continued water supply, vital to everyday life.

A changing climate, and the resulting extremes in weather that have led to too much or too little water, suggest the need for long-term resilience for communities and the environment. We'll be considering a number of options over the coming months to improve the way that we manage water, including the potential to use proposed investment in other infrastructure as part of future solutions.