Response from Mr Richard Bagot, Levens Heritage
1. Mr Richard Bagot, Levens Heritage : 21 Jun 2017 16:35:00
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DM6 Flood Risk Management and Sustainable Drainage Systems
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I represent the Levens Hall Estate but also a number of other farming businesses and families that live and work alongside the Kent Estuary, all of which are located south west of Levens Bridge.
Storm Desmond brought chaos to areas such as Kendal, Keswick and Cockermouth but it also produced the highest recorded flood to the lower reaches of the River Kent. This resulted in Levens Hall being flooded on the ground floor for the first time in recorded history, an event that cost our business £120,000 and damaged some of the historic fabric of the building. Other farm businesses and residential premises were also affected and for a time the A590 to Barrow was blocked.
The floods aren’t just getting worse because of global warming but in our area there is a far greater man made influence in the form of the river defence/bund surrounding the Ninezergh Farm fields (owned by the Dalham Estate). This defence was built during the early 1990’s and gained planning permission without the detailed hydrological surveys and river mapping techniques that are available today. At the time it was hoped the bund would help the farming community and since then we have found that it has a direct influence on the severity of the flooding, not only at Levens Hall but also surrounding farms by preventing a natural flood plain from forming, therefore stopping flood water from leaving the area.
Flooding around the estuary and at Levens Hall isn’t a new phenomenon. Every year the River Kent breaches its banks and often reaches our car park and even the garden, resulting in a two to three day clean-up operation to remove debris brought by the river, costing us thousands of pounds each time. During the unsettled periods before and after Storm Desmond these areas were flooded eight times.
Before the bund was erected our highest recorded flood was in 1898, since it was built we have had seventeen floods higher than that, Storm Desmond beat the previous record by nine inches.
The Ninezergh Farm river defence is harming local businesses and livelihoods. The Levens Hall Estate supports thirty two jobs and welcomes 35,000 visitors each year. If current trends continue our business will become uninsurable and lasting damage will be inflicted on a grade one listed property.
We require the help of the SLDC and the Environment Agency to remove this bund and allow a natural flood plain to form.
Richard Bagot
