The Environment Agency has completed a £50 million flood risk mitigation scheme to better protect more than 1,400 properties - including 950 homes - in the Perry Barr and Witton area of Birmingham.

With a history of flooding, hundreds of homes and businesses in Perry Barr and Witton will benefit from the the flood storage area at Sandwell in heavy rain.

The major project has seen the construction of a new flood storage reservoir at Forge Mill in the Sandwell Valley Country Park. The site is upstream of Perry Barr and Witton communities, and works to capture excess water from the River Tame during times of heavy rainfall.

The new reservoir will be able to store 1.7 million cubic metres of water - the equivalent of 680 Olympic swimming pools.

In very large floods, the area of stored water will now be able to extend back up the valley to Forge Mill Farm and Newton Road via the operation of a gate. For smaller flood events, the water will be stored within the banks of the river until it spills onto adjacent land.

The £50 million project is one of 2,000 new schemes being built around England before 2027, helping to protect hundreds of thousands of properties

Richard Bentley, Environment Agency operations manager for the West Midlands, said:

We’re delighted to have completed this major project which will help to better protect homes and businesses from flooding in the Perry Barr and Witton area. We know the devastating impact that flooding can have, which is why better protecting people, communities and the environment is our top priority.”

Phase 1 of the scheme was largely completed in spring 2017, bringing new flood walls, flood gates and flow conveyance improvements from Brookvale Road in Witton, down to Gravelly Park Industrial Estate in Aston. The improved flood wall and flood gates in Witton successfully stopped properties from flooding in May 2018 and again in February 2020.

The project has been supported by Birmingham City Council and Sandwell Council.