Tenbury Wells Residents Anxious Ahead of Storm Darragh After Previous Flooding

A local councillor has reported growing apprehension among residents and businesses in a town previously inundated when Storm Bert caused a brook to overflow, as new weather warnings emerge. The Met Office has issued an unusual red weather warning for wind in anticipation of Storm Darragh’s arrival in the UK. David Chambers, a representative for Tenbury Wells on Worcestershire County Council, expressed his shared concern with the local populace, stating: “I don’t think I’ve ever watched the weather forecast so much in my life.” Tenbury Wells is presently gearing up for its yearly mistletoe festival and is “holding its breath” regarding the potential impact of the upcoming storm. Chambers noted, “Businesses have been looking forward to this from a trading point of view, of course, and [also] the whole community and people coming to the area.” The red warning will be active from 03:00 to 11:00 GMT on Saturday, encompassing the western and southern coastal areas of Wales, along with the Bristol Channel, which includes sections of Bristol and Cardiff. Additionally, yellow warnings for wind have been issued for the entire West Midlands region. Chambers remarked, “We’re all holding our breath for what [Saturday] will bring, and will the storm bring rises in the river I just don’t know,” further stating that the town was still recuperating from its previous encounter with severe weather. In November, the Kyre Brook’s water level increased, leading to the collapse of a wall and inundating a significant portion of the town centre. Chambers explained, “There’s a bank of sandbags there, which will hold back minor increases in water levels while we determine what we will replace [the wall] with.” He clarified, “[But it was a protection wall, if you like, to prevent people, pedestrians, [from] falling; not a flood defence.” He added, “Now the big conversation is ‘are we going to replace it quickly with a similar wall’? Or we go ‘are we going to have a flood protection wall’?” The Environment Agency (EA) stated that developing a replacement scheme consistent with the town’s heritage had proven intricate. A spokesperson for the EA indicated that the agency was making diligent efforts to implement a solution, given that the effects of floods on the town were unsustainable for its community.