Avonmouth sea wall flood defence 'should start in summer'

Work to build a £100m flood defence scheme along the Severn estuary will likely begin in summer.

The Avonmouth Severnside Enterprise Area project will go ahead despite objections from residents.

Critics, including Bristol Port, claim flaws in the design will put lives at risk and will create too much environmental damage in Severnside.

The project was approved when South Gloucestershire Council gave a final agreement on a "detailed design".

Reinforced concrete sea walls up to 2.4-metres high and raised earth embankments will be built along the coast from Avonmouth to Severnside.

A spokesman for the project said work will "most likely" begin in summer 2019 once a contractor has been appointed, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

"The construction work will be phased over a period of four to six years to be agreed with the preferred contractor," he said.

Bristol and South Gloucestershire councils will each contribute £30m to the £100m scheme and the Environment Agency will provide the remaining £40m.

Among those against the scheme, Severn Beach residents Jackie Latham and Ian Roberts said the plans were drawn up using out-of-date climate change information and "phenomenal savings" could be made by reducing the size of a sea embankment.

A spokesman for the Environment Agency said the earth embankment north of New Passage is the weakest point along this area of coastline, even without consideration for sea level rise.

A 100-metre gap in the sea wall around the aging lock-gates at the entrance to Avonmouth Docks has also come in for criticism.

Bristol City Council has said the plan is to close the gap before the next big flood, but Bristol Port Company maintains the "miscalculation" puts lives at risk.

Their experts disagree over whether the next big flood will be in 2076 or as early as 2026.