Nine things that must be done to stop flooding in Minehead

Minehead has been badly affected by both coastal flooding and flash floods caused by heavy rainfall over the last 12 months, with dozens of homes and businesses (including the Butlins holiday park) being affected during heavy storms in September 2023.

The Environment Agency (EA) completed work in early-January on a £3.7m coastal defence scheme, using granite rock armour to protect two sections of the beach – one in Minehead seafront, the other along the boundary of the Minehead and West Somerset Golf Club.

The Somerset Rivers Authority (SRA) has now identified nine priorities for protecting the town in the years ahead, which form part of the Minehead 25-year flood action plan.

Minehead has been badly affected by both coastal flooding and flash floods. (Image: Somerset Council) Details of the plan (which was co-funded by Wessex Water) were published by the SRA ahead of its most recent board meeting in Bridgwater on Friday morning (September 20).

A spokesman said: “Minehead’s flooding problems are made worse by the ways in which they combine risks and impacts from watercourses, farmland, woodland, built up areas, the sea and its tides, rainfall and drainage systems that are not fully mapped or understood.

“Its catchment has to be looked at as a complicated whole, as the basis for getting a better understanding and developing ideas for tackling flood risks
from all sources in and around Minehead.”

The report (which was completed by consultancy firm WSP) identified five “flooding hotspots” in the town – namely:

• Bratton Lane and Woodcombe Lane
• The Bratton Stream (open channel section near The Parks)
• The Bratton Stream (town culvert section)
• Brunel Way and Vulcan Road (near the Morrison’s supermarket)
• The Alcombe Brook

From this, the consultants identified the following nine “cost-effective” steps that would need to be taken to reduce the risk of flooding in Minehead and the neighbouring parishes:

1. Use natural flood management techniques to slow the flows of water running off from farmland and woodland above Minehead, including land within the Exmoor National Park
2. Create new green spaces in Minehead, such as small attenuation ponds, which can hold water that might otherwise run along streets and into buildings
3. Open up a clogged rainwater pipe which was recently found to be buried on the beach, allowing rainwater to flow freely into the sea
4. Liaise with developers to ensure the new homes being built south of the A39 Hopcott Road do not increase localised flooding
5. Provide protection to individual properties from surface water flooding – including the installation of flood-proof doors
6. Amend local planning policies to reduce flooding with new developments which come along under the new Somerset-wide Local Plan (which will be completed in early-2028)
7. Conduct further research into old pipes buried under Minehead to assess their capacity and plan for their future maintenance
8. Consult with residents in under-documented areas of Minehead to allow for future flood prevention work to be modelled and planned
9. Reduce blockages in the Bratton Stream area to prevent water spilling into nearby gardens

A spokesman for the SRA added: “Wessex Water, Somerset Council and the EA are planning to hold meetings with local residents and businesses to discuss what has been found out and what should be done next.

“We are keen for actions to be taken, and have offered the support of our
community engagement team, especially after Minehead flooded again
in September 2023.”