Our flood and drainage team has successfully completed a study for Kent County Council on the natural flood management options available at Tunbridge Wells Common.
The area has a history of flooding, with a key source being overland flow from the Common which is routed towards the local road network, causing major disruption.
Kent County Council appointed our experts to investigate opportunities to reduce flooding from the Common and Major York’s Road through the introduction of natural flood management and SuDS retrofitting. In addition to a reduction in flooding, the study delivered the Council’s objectives of improving open space, supporting biodiversity and delivering climate resilience.
Abbi Gosling, Flood Risk Project Officer for Kent County Council, stated: “After providing a scope of works for this project, we were impressed by the research that Waterman’s team presented in our first kick-off meeting. We felt they took the time to really understand what we wanted to achieve and the deliverables we wanted to see. The team communicated with us very well throughout the project. At the end, we were presented with comprehensive long and short lists of feasible options that we can now present to our stakeholders.”
Kim McKissock, Waterman’s Associate Director for flood and drainage, commented: “It has been a pleasure working on the Tunbridge Wells Common project with a team who are so committed to improving flood risk. Natural flood management not only provides a cost-effective means of reducing flooding, but it also presents opportunities for habitat enhancement, biodiversity, recreation and wellbeing benefits.”
