Beal Homes begins £2m project to enhance flood resilience for growing community

Family-owned housebuilder Beal Homes has begun work on a £2m project to enhance flood resilience for a growing community in Hull.

East Yorkshire-based Beal has received planning permission approval from Hull City Council to bring a further 450 new homes to the popular Kingswood neighbourhood.

Before beginning construction of the new homes on a 52-acre site, west of Richmond Way, Beal is funding and delivering works to widen and strengthen the embankment alongside the nearby River Hull.

The works will not only safeguard Beal’s newest development, Kings Crescent, but the entire community in Kingswood, which now includes more than 3,500 homes, as well as numerous commercial and retail units.

The engineering works will involve increasing, by three metres, the width of the embankment on a 1.5km stretch of the riverbank, which borders and extends beyond the new development site, thereby strengthening this defence.

SUDS (sustainable urban drainage systems) will also be developed on the site, with Beal creating a system of basin-shaped “aqua greens” that collect and slow the flow of water during heavy rainfall, further enhancing flood resilience and reducing the impact on existing surface water drainage networks.

As well as helping to prevent flooding, the aqua greens will be fully landscaped to create attractive natural environments for local residents to enjoy.

As well as widening and strengthening the embankment, Beal will construct a new gravel footpath and cycleway on top of it, along the full eastern boundary of the development site. Two ramped access points will also be put in place to enable wheelchair users and people with prams to safely access the footpath.

The whole project is expected to take 12 months to complete, subject to weather conditions.

For public health and safety reasons, the 1.5km section of the public right of way which runs along the riverbank will be temporarily closed, with a diversion route taking walkers along Richmond Way and reconnecting to the embankment beyond the closure.

Beal Homes has worked closely with the Environment Agency to develop and agree an approved scheme of works and representatives from the agency will be carrying out regular inspections throughout the project.

Beal Technical Director, Guy Jewitt, said: “We’ve been building homes in Kingswood for over 30 years and we’re proud to have played a key role in creating this thriving community.

“The works we have now begun will improve the existing flood defences and create a wider and more robust embankment to protect the whole of Kingswood, as well as providing a new and improved footpath and cycleway along the embankment which can be accessed and enjoyed by all.

“We’re committed to leaving a positive and lasting legacy in all the areas in which we work. Enhancing flood resilience measures for the whole Kingswood area, as well as improving access to the riverside, are the latest ways we have contributed to the local community in Kingswood, above and beyond the hundreds of much-needed, high-quality new homes we have built for local people.”

Environment Agency Asset Performance Advisor for Hull and the Humber, Matt Smith, said: “The Environment Agency has worked closely with Beal Homes from the start of this project to agree a suitable method of construction. We’ll also be monitoring the project throughout to ensure these works are delivered in line with requirements.”

Under the terms of the planning consent, the works to strengthen the embankment must be completed and the area fully landscaped before any homes on the site are occupied.