WORK on a tidal barrier to protect homes and businesses could be delayed by up to six months after asbestos was discovered near the access to the site, writes Daniel Mumby.

Sedgemoor District Council and the Environment Agency (EA) submitted proposals in December 2019 for the barrier near Chilton Trinity Enterprise Park.

It is designed to protect around 13,000 homes and 1,500 businesses from flooding in the coming decades.

The business case for the £128million project was approved by the Treasury in September 2021, with Defra giving the final go-ahead in January 2022.

But construction work may now be pushed back significantly after the asbestos find at the start of an access road being built to take construction traffic off the local road network.

The barrier will be built across the River Parrett with two vertical lifting gates which will be closed at very high tides to prevent water from travelling upstream and overwhelming existing flood defences.

New flood defence embankments will be created downstream, with existing embankments improved and reinforced.

In a newsletter released before a drop-in event scheduled for Wednesday (November 30), the council and the EA confirmed the  delay.

They said: “Work has started on a new access track from Saltlands Lane,  adjacent to the recycling centre.

“Large vehicles and construction plant will use this to access the barrier site and it will minimise traffic into Chilton Trinity.

“Asbestos was found at the start of the track. A cordon has been set up while the asbestos is safely removed, and some public footpaths have been temporarily diverted.

“Work could take four weeks, but up to six months if we find more asbestos.”

The district council said it had “minimised” any delay to the original programme of works by carrying out vegetation clearing activity ahead of schedule.

The first physical element of the project to be delivered will be a temporary “bypass channel” in early-2023, which will divert water in the River Parrett away from the main channel to allow the barrier’s foundations to be laid.

A drop-in event will be staged at St. Mary’s Church in Bridgwater on Wednesday (November 30) between 2pm and 7pm, allowing the public to directly quiz council and EA officers about the project.