Plans have been approved by Gwynedd council for the construction of improved flood defences in the Hirael area of Bangor.
The existing coastal defences at Hirael are limited with the only formal defences in the area being a sea wall which in various states of disrepair.
Currently, there are no other structures that manage wave overtopping and inundation. Temporary flood barriers such as sandbags have been deployed in the past along the length of the sea wall and two slipways to deal with high tides and wave surges but are not a sufficient source of long-term flood protection.
The proposal is to replace the existing sea wall with additional improvements. The Hirael area of Bangor has historically been known to be prone to flooding. In 2008 a scheme to reduce the risk of flooding by increasing the capacity, repairing and replacing large sections of the Afon Adda culvert was completed. The current scheme would work alongside the culvert to reduce the risk of flooding from tidal and storm events.
The occurrence of coastal flooding is expected to increase in future years in response to climate change and sea level rise. In addition, the current sea wall is in a poor state of repair and will require significant investment in coming years.
The proposed flood defence improvement works at Hirael is split into four key sections:
- Flood defence improvements, re-alignment and improvements to the cycle path and reconstruction of slipway at the Beach Road East section;
- Main promenade frontage sea wall improvements
- 50m (approx.) section of new embankment and multiuser path behind the Dŵr Cymru Welsh Water pumping station
- Glandŵr Road flood protection improvements.
For more information about the scheme visit: https://hirael.ygc.cymru/
