Consultation due on £2.8 million plan for future of Cowbit and Crowland Washes

The people behind a £2.8million project to look at the future of Cowbit and Crowland Washes are finally due to launch a consultation this year.

The Environment Agency will be compiling a project over the next four years to look at how the washes could manage flood risk and enhance the environment going forward.

Two years ago, the agency reported that the washes had come to ‘end of their design life’ with seepage occurring, and in 2022 they secured £2.8million of Government funding to investigate the ‘best use’ of washes.

However calls have been made by local landowners that they be included within the consultation.

An Environment Agency spokesman said: “We are pleased to have secured just under £2.8 million funding for the Crowland and Cowbit Washes. The Washes last stored water in 1947 and since then we have made major improvements to flood risk management within the River Welland catchment.

“Between now and 2027, we aim to develop a project to reflect the changing climate and catchment. It is important to understand how best use can be made of the washes to manage flood risk now, and in the future, along with enhancing the environment.

“We have recently appointed consultants to support us developing a long list of options and stakeholder engagement in 2023 and will report back in more detail in on this project in due time.”

The Crowland and Cowbit washes were constructed in about 1664 to take excess water from the Welland and were flooded on an annual basis.

However, a series of measures implemented since the devastating floods of 1947, including the opening of the Coronation Channel in the 1950s, has meant the washes have not been used every year.

One of the landowners around Cowbit Wash is Trevor Tyrrell, who is calling for discussion to include the people who understand the area. He said: “I hope the consultants consult all the landowners not just a few.

“We want to be able to discuss the project with them and not just be told.”

The Government is investing £5.2 billion in a six-year flood and coastal defence investment programme in England from 2021 to 2027. This will fund about 2,000 new defence schemes.