Slough a step further in implementing Wuhan-like flood scheme

In March 2021, the council was granted up to £7.9m from the government’s £150m flood and coastal resilience innovation programme to help ease flooding in the area.

One of the schemes for Slough is to transform its roads and pavements in most of the borough’s wards, except for Langley and Colnbrook with Poyle, affected by flooding with permeable surfaces that will absorb rain and flood water, relieving pressure on flood defences.

This concept is known as a ‘sponge city,’ and was first conceived in Wuhan, China. The project will span six years.

This scheme will primarily benefit the homes and businesses within the Chalvey Ditches and Salt Hill Stream River catchments in northwest Slough and South Bucks as surface water flooding has caused disruption and a risk to life in those communities.

Other measures include creating and restoring natural vegetation to better drain and manage rainwater by providing more sustainable and enriched public spaces with catchments by river restoration. A third project involves enhancing flood monitoring to prepare for future events and raising community awareness of surface water flooding.

Parts of Slough have flooded seven times in the past 13 years, affecting about 3,500 homes and nearly 700 businesses.

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