The Environment Agency has completed the new £8.5 million Houghton Brook Flood Storage Area which will protect key infrastructure in Luton from flooding, along with some 600 residential and commercial properties.

The Environment Agency worked with South East Midlands Local Enterprise Partnership (SEMLEP) and Luton Borough Council on the Houghton Brook Flood Storage Area.

The scheme will protect some 600  homes and businesses from flooding.major flood defence works on Houghton Brook near Luton and Houghton Regis. SEMLEP provided £1 million of funding through its Local Growth Fund.

The new flood storage area can hold back 140,000m³ of water, equivalent to 56 Olympic sized swimming pools, at times of heavy rain. It will then allow it to drain slowly and under control into the Houghton Brook – cutting the risk of flooding to people and property along the Houghton Brook and River Lea in Luton.

One of the key benefits of the scheme is that it will mean important services and employment will be able to carry on during heavy rainfall events where in previous floods roads near the River Lea were inaccessible.

The scheme will also deliver many environmental and recreational benefits, including:

• planting of over 3,000 new bushes / shrubs and 260 new trees
• planting wildflowers on the banks of the river
• installation of an otter ramp at the scheme
• improvements to the Houghton brook, including restoring important chalk river habitat

Sam Lumb, Environment Agency Area Director, said completion of the flood storage area on the Houghton Brook was a key part of plans to reduce the risk of flooding in the Luton area, commenting:

“Even with Covid and a wet winter, we have been able to complete this project on time and within budget.

“This scheme will not eliminate flood risk altogether, but will significantly reduce the risk of flooding in Luton from the River Lea.”

Judith Barker, Director of Programmes and Governance at SEMLEP said:

“We are pleased to partner with the Environment Agency and Luton Borough Council in delivering the Houghton Brook Flood Storage Area project by providing £1 million of funding through SEMLEP’s Local Growth Fund.”

The successful delivery of the project would help to future proof businesses and communities against the effects of climate change on the River Lea, she added.

The control structure of the Houghton Brook Flood Storage Area

The work by construction partner BAM Nuttall, which began in May 2020, has been funded by Defra, Thames Regional Flood and Coastal Committee, SEMLEP Local Growth Fund and Luton Borough Council.

The volume of cohesive material imported to site was 70,000 tonnes and was completed during October, which saw more rainfall than a 1:10 year event.

The embankment construction has been carried out in layers, some sections requiring 24 layers to full height, with in excess of 1,800 on-site and off-site tests carried out to validate the standard of the materials used throughout.

The Flow Control Structure is based around 6 precast units, each measuring 2m x 2m internally. The design of the structure involved a total of 25 different sized concrete pours. An important planning requirement for the visual appearance of the asset saw the use of a specialist form liner to create a masonry effect finish to the exposed wall faces. This is a reusable panel, with various other surface finishes available.