3rd & 4th November 2008. the culverts outflow checked on a daily basis, it was evident that every day a little bit more of the structure was disapearing into the brook. Any assessable bricks and stones were removed to the side of the brook to allow the free flow, returning to the scene late afternoon this made the water welly depth to be able to tke photos looking inside.

5th November 2008. A County Council Highways engineer visited the site of the collapse on the head wall of the Queensway culvert where it outflows into Church Meadow. The pavements integrity is compromised by the recent collapses in such a manner the Riddings Brook Flood Group to the general public safety into their own hands by installing 3 barriers preventing access to the severely affected pavement.

Wild Bill Hook and other Flood Group members cleared the huge amount of bricks and stone that had fallen away into the brook to prevent a restriction in the flow and successfully lowering the level by 2-3 inches. This makes inspection possible and the access on the other side of Kidderminster Road behind the stone wall that starts on the corner of the footpath that leads from the grassed area with the bench at the bottom of the Queensway.

On the other side of Kidderminster Road a highways inspection hatch was excavated by the flood group after being covered by all manner of available objects some 30 years ago including old doors, coal bunker sides and fence posts by the householder in an attempt to stem the garden parties the culvert rat population were regularly holding. The open hatch was closed following the poisoning of the householders dog with rat poison laid by the local authority, its stability was not good following the lifting of several section by the huge force of flood water that the culvert has seen a number of times over the last couple of years. When this hatch was brought to the attention of the Highways engineer he suggested that when the new box culvert which is being proposed is installed that the inspection manholes are situated the other side of the wall on the pavement and this very dangerous 4ft x 5 ft hole can be sealed. The householders have two dogs and a small toddler.

The culvert route is easily located from above the surface as two road drain covers drop directly into the clear running water below, crystal clear waters until a downpour that is, then it runs a distinctive reddy clay colour.

Riddings Route

The basics. ( check out the glossary is you are unsure of any terms used )
Riddings watercourse, features and route.
Riddings Brook is a watercourse that has culverted sections, a culvert is a when a previously open channel or water is diverted through pipes. Their are a large number of separate culverts on Riddings Brook as it meanders its way under roads, through the Safari Park, before joining the River Severn between the Leisure Centre and High School on Stourport Road. Culverts can work well for many years, but can also cause flash flooding problems following rainstorms or prolonged rain as culverting dramatically reduces the capacity of a watercourse. Flash flooding can also be made worse when the capacity of small watercourses or culverts is reduced by blockages of silt, rubbish/fly-tipping. Rubbish can also travel down watercourses until it reaches culverted sections and block them, a new pre debris screen has just been fitted ( read Hot Off the Press HERE ). Photo of Riddings Brook alongside Grey Green Farm, where the replacement pre screen will be located.To help avoid this riparian owners are encouraged to keep watercourses that run through their land clear of debris that might cause problems further downstream. Their has recently been grants available for this work which is still being undertaken.

Over the years many developments and alterations have been made to its course and composition, with the construction of the bypass one of its significant pools ( Known as Toad Pool / Folly Pool / Chipperfields Pool ) was cut in half with a culvert connecting, the track at the rear of Lodge Close in Church Meadow has another culvert, as does the top of Sandbourne Close. The private housing estate the rises on the Kidderminster side of Queensway has the majority of Meadow Rise, Lingfield Road, Belvedere Crescent and Dunmore Roads sewage and surface water joining the Queensway drainage system down the footpath along Springside Place, adjacent to 100 Queensway. Delemere Road, Heathfield Road and a small section of Meadow Rise sewerage joins the Queensway between 44 & 46 Queensway. Many properties on the estate high above the Queensway suffer from water overflowing their drains and flowing through garages etc
The most significant culvert on the Riddings Brook water course and the one we are interested in at the moment is the Queensway culvert. During the building of the Queensway the culvert was partially constructed to channel water away from land that was designated for buildings. The first section was built a very long time ago and passes upstream underneath Kidderminster Road from Church Meadow, it is showing signs of collapse following the 6th of September flood and 4th October.
Photos HERE.
The lower Queensway Houses have the culvert running above the level of their homes in the rear garden to maintain flow, it is visible above ground and has numerous leaks that spew the distinctive clay coloured water into their gardens during culvert high volume.
As the demand for homes increased after the war, the culvert pipe was extended further up the road and more homes were constructed in the middle section of the Queensway. The the top section of the pipe was added onto the existing concrete culvert, enabling the bungalows on the right of the Queensway to be built, Hoarstone Close and part of Cordle Marsh Road. Riddings Close was built during the 70s during the craze for self build homes, as were the properties on the junction of Cordle Marsh Road going uphill Towards Shaw Hedge Road.
Queensway Culverts Construction.
The Culverts construction starts with sandstone blocks which run from its exit in Church Meadow on Kidderminster Road, upstream at a location that is accessed from 71 Kidderinster Road. Their are two open drains on the main road that enter the culvert directly and also an open inspection pit which has a temporary cover as a safety measure just upstream of the pavement, with an access manhole a few meters upstream.
It changes at some point in this bottom section to a concrete pipe construction, which with various additions and changes in circumference, continues all the way upstream past Riddings Close to the inlet in the top field, below Grey Green Lane, where the new culvert grid has been installed.
It is not possible to show this section as it is completely inaccessible, the shot below is 10 foot downstream of the Queensway culvert outlet and clearly shows a huge amount of construction material. What is perhaps most concerning, is this is the section that runs under the main Kidderminster Road.
A huge amount of homes across Wribbenhall rely on the Queensway culvert to prevent their properties from flooding. No matter how hard the Riddings Brook Flood Group work to maintain the culverts flow at the top, unless it has a free flow it will ultimately be in vain. The pipes capacity is already questionable to the huge demand of surface water that is placed on it.

Upto speed, the story so far !

22nd October Second Multi-Agency Meeting Report.
A further meeting of professional partners to discuss flooding and drainage on Queensway was held on 22nd October, hosted by Wyre Forest District Council at Duke House. The aim of the multi agency meetings are to encourage cooperation and the sharing of information between the various agencies involved, the meeting was chaired by Richard Osborne, WFDC Land Drainage Officer.

Those attended included the Environment Agency, Severn Trent Water, Worcestershire Highways, Wyre Forest Community Housing and WFDC Emergency Planner Andrew Dickens. The community was represented by three members of the flood group: Chris Grainger (who owns the land immediately above the culvert), Julie Morris (Chair of the Tenants’ Consultative Committee) and Gill Holland (Chair, Bewdley Residents’ Flood Committee).

The first Multi-Agency meeting, held last April, was organized by the flood group in the hope of promoting joint-working between the agencies and the community, without which the flooding problems are unlikely to be resolved.

Plans were submitted by Worcestershire County Council Highways to do remedial work on the speed humps on the length of the Queensway which is proposed to commence in March 2009. A half meter section of the speed humps will be removed from both edges with additional new drainage installed under the road from outside No. 12 Queensway to past No.2 Queensway where it will continue across the grassed area, pass under the Kidderminster Road and discharge into the Brook in Church Meadow. The three way speed cushion located on the Kidderminster Road will have no adaption, the Cushion on the Springhill Rise junction will remain but have the existing metal grid gully removed and a half meter removed on its lower edge only. Extra drains will be installed and the existing Road drains that drop directly in the culvert will be sealed with new ones located close to the Kidderminster side edge of the speed cushion, joining into the new drainage system.

It was established that the CCTV survey of the Queenway culvert was not completed, being abandoned just past No.2 Queensway due to excessive silting and debris. This is the oldest section of the culvert, being of old brick and sandstone construction, the outflow collapse was highlighted by the Flood Group and further investigations are ongoing by W.C.C Highways, who said they had a survey team working in the area who would make investigate within two weeks.
The question of responsibility was clarified, if you own a property that has a section of Riddings Brook or culvert running through it, as a Riparian owner it is your responsibility to maintain it and the flow through. Due to the terrible state of many sections of the Queensway culvert and the specialist work required to repair, the local authority was asked to investigate the possibility of offering advice and maybe a scheme to individual owners, this was agreed and will be followed up.

RIDDINGS BROOK FLOOD GROUP will be holding an OPEN MEETING on Wednesday, 29th October 2008 at The Wribbenhall Community Centre, Bewdley at 7.45pm ( doors open 7.30pm ) ALL WELCOME.
On the 22n October the second Multi-Agency Meeting was aheld. Come along and hear what the various agencies are doing to lessen the flood risk.
Come and hear about the application to DEFRA to run a pilot scheme testing the guidlines for Surface Water Managements Plans. If the bid is successful, the area will be leading the way towards better management of flood risk ( and helping ourselves in the process. )
We have also invited a representative from FLOOD BARRIERS UK based at Droitwitch to come along and demonstrate a lightweight flood door ( the 'Flood Shield' ) a neat solution which requires no permanent fittings. Better than sandbags ?
Click Here To View The Product Video
For more information, please contact Gill Holland, 7 Beals Corner, Bewdley, DY121AF. Tel. 01299 400952 or Email; gillholland.eclipse.co.uk

11th October 2008 Folly Pool and Folly Bridge Pool culverts cleared successfully by Riddings Brook Flood Group, and Wild Bill Hook, video HERE.
10th October 2008 Wyre Forest District Council notified.
The stone wall that runs along Kidderminster Road from the Church is unsupported above the Riddings Brook section, any down pour could also prove disasterious for the integrity of Kidderminster Road.
Photo Album. Video.
9th October.2008 Culvert collapse unblocked, but dangerious.
Following notification by Riddings Brook Flood Group, 15 hours later it is excavated by the Environment Agency 9.10.08.
Riddings Brook Culvert Collapse !

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Queensway Culvert outflow new Photos.
Queensway Culvert outlet in Church Meadow.
The outlet seems to of suffered considerable damage following the flood on the 6th of September.
Their are no visable signs of the culvert exit, dispite a considerable time digging around with and excavating the large amount of bricks and stone blocks. The flow is restricted by the debris, and lowered some 4 inches after clearing a number of acumulated heaps of loose bricks. With all the hard work the flood group does to ensure the water does not overflow the entrance grid, it is very disheartening to see the restrictions to flow around the outlet.
This photo is directly downstream of the outlet, bricks and stone debris can clearly be seen, I sinceerly hope this is not from the construction of the lower culvert that passes under Kidderminster Road.
Further photos. HERE.
Environment Agency Removes damaged trash screen.
2 October 2008.
The Environment Agency have today removed the pre culvert inlet screen that was sited further up the Brook to reduce the huge quanity of weed growth that blocks the culvert head screen. A stronger replacement is currently being engineered to replace the trial temporary one that was damaged beyond repair on September the 6th due to the huge volume of water and its powerfull force. We will add a photo of its situe and more robust replacement over the next few days.
BBC Interviews with Riddings Flood Group, Speed hump problem.
8am live on Queensway interview.
Things didn't go quite to plan as the transmitter in Kidderminster failed, but was heard by the people that mattered. After a hectic day making and answering telephone calls, it was confirmed that no more temporary metal grids are to be wastefully fitted, but permenant reducing of the speed bumps will be undertaken.
Plans are also in the pipeline ( Please excuse the pun ! LOL ) to cap off the Kidderminster Road drains that are supposed to flow into the culvert, but actually gushes out and install drainage into Church Meadow directly into the lower Ridding Brook. This is to be proposed at the October meeting, for Environmental Agency acceptance. Its a really important part of the process, evaluating the projects impact on properties that may be directly affected lower down the watercourse, suck as Lodge Close and Sandbourne Close.
5.05pm telephone live interview about the speed humps.
Events & Activities
DVD keepsafe, containing videos and photographs from the 2007- 2008 floods.
As a group we are currently collating all video footage and photos relevant to the Ridding Brook flood problem, into a presentation Cd / DVD disk. We were going to call it a commemorative record, but that really is not the right description at all. We believe its important not to let the events be forget in time, keeping a permanent record for future generations and inhabitants of area, especially as the school is about to close in the water catchment area on Shaw Hedge Road at the top of the estate with a 70 + residential development planned.

We propose to sell the disks at a small fee to raise funds to buy as a matter of urgency a flood alarm to be fitted as a temporary measure on the grid as a means of early warning. The Environmental Agency will arrange for a more permanent solution once the temporary earth bund has been reworked. This job of early warning, is currently undertaken by Brian, who has performed this task and grid clearing for in excess of 40 years, he is not in the best of health and not exactly a spring chicken, getting up every hour when it rains to protect people on the lower Queensway, not his own property ! A simple alarm that gives an audible warning when the water reaches a level that requires attention, monitoring and the grid cleared of debris and weed is a simple, cheap step that would make common sense, extra protection and Brians life a whole lot easier.
BBC Hereford and Worcester have agreed to publicise the presentation disk once it is available.

Clearing the Brook from the River Severn upstream

On the 1st day that Wild Bill Hook and I started on our quest to record and check the entire length of the watercourse, the sun was out and the weather dry --- oh sorry, you are wondering who Wild Bill Hook is ? Well that will become clear a little further on, all I can tell you is that without his help this project was never going to happen, and certainly not going to be as much fun !

Sorry, I digress --------oh yes, its was dry and sunny and we managed to walk about 80 foot down from Stourport Road, between the Leisure Centre and High School actually in the bed of the dry Brook, before the tangled mess of twisted broken trees and debris made our route impassable. We headed back with a view to return the following day and start from the small footbridge on the Severn tributary with Riddings Brook and work our way upstream.

We eagerly approached the Brook near the Severn, my Cocker Spaniel Molly racing about like she was possessed by the devil as she could hear water, which also meant their was mud of which she is very partial too a liberal dose all over as a part of her beauty regime, does little for my Corsas aroma though ! As we approached the little footbridge that stretches the usually dry Riddings Brook stream bed, we realised the River was raging through, having risen dramatically overnight, Wild Bill Hook slept right through it, I hadn't given it a second thought. The Brook was a swirling chocolaty colour full of debris and about 6 foot higher than our visit the previous day. I took some photos and video footage to later compile into the lower Riddings Brook compilation and off we headed upstream. The banks were indistinguishable the water was so high, but the twisted mess of fallen trees and huge branches were still apparent, causing the flow to twist to finds its route to freedom.
Walking up the Leisure centre side, we managed to eventually reach the short culvert under the footpath between the Leisure Centre and the High School which was underwater, forming a perfect dam behind with all the debris and silt that had accumulated. A little further on we met Stourport Road twin culverts which signalled that we had completed the first stretch.

Are you sitting comfortably ? Good, then I'll begin ---

The watercourse up to the top of Riddings Close has now been re-classed as a River by the Environment Agency by en-maining it to the River Severn, as Brooks don't flood. Previously it was an ordinary critical watercourse, under the jurisdiction of the local authority, Wyre Forest District Council who maintain overall responsibility beyond Riddings Close to its source.

In making a record of its source and end where it tributarys into the mighty River Severn, many intersting things have cropped up which I would like to make a record of for all to see.