12 July 2021 Latest News

Rain Gardens, created for first time in Essex, to reduce flooding and improve the environment in a Canvey Road

£260k joint Rain Garden partnership project works with nature to protect homes and improve environment

Park Avenue, Canvey, is the first road in Essex to have new “rain gardens” installed, a £260k joint project between Essex County Council and Anglian Water aiming to reduce local flood risk and improve the environment.

Verges on Park Avenue have now been turned into attractive rain gardens housing drainage material, plants and soil which will retain water and allow it slowly to soak away. This holds surface water away from the road and people’s homes.

A “swale” (a shallow, grassy channel) has been installed in the greenspace nearby which will also capture surface water from the highway. A wooden footbridge crosses the swale to maintain access to the greenspace during very wet periods.

Improvements have also been made to parking in the road with the addition of “X-grid” (where grass grows between a concrete grid in the soil) parking along the side of the road, allowing water to permeate into the ground rather than run off into drains.

Thirty native trees have been planted in the greenspace, and over 1,300 plants have been planted in the rain gardens.

This is a joint project between the Climate Adaptation and Mitigation Team at Essex County Council and Anglian Water, each contributing £130,000. Residents and Castle Point Borough Council were engaged with before the project and the scheme has been delivered by Essex Highways.

The Essex Climate Action Commission was formed to identify ways to mitigate the effects of climate change. One key area identified by the commission is to increase the amount of green infrastructure and biodiversity in the county. Schemes like this one, which incorporate elements of green infrastructure are projects Essex County Council are keen to invest in. 

Councillor Lee Scott, Essex County Council Cabinet Member for Highways Maintenance and Sustainable Transport said: “This could be the future shape of residential roads in the county. The area already looks much greener and is sure to be more resistant to flooding in persistent rain.

“If this scheme works as it should, and if feedback from residents is positive, then this can become a model for other schemes elsewhere, as funds allow. Park Avenue happened to have the necessary land on the verges available, but we can adapt the model elsewhere in Essex.

“1,300 plants and 30 trees have been planted here to improve the environment, this is a clever scheme and I congratulate all the partners involved.”

Jonathan Glerum, Regional Flood Risk Manager for Anglian Water, said: “We’re really pleased to be able to collaborate with Essex County Council on this sustainable drainage solution for Park Avenue in Canvey. The work will help to reduce localised flooding in the area and also provide an environmentally-positive and aesthetically pleasing solution for the local community.

“It’s important to us that we continue to work with key stakeholders within the region to implement more holistic and sustainable solutions where possible. We would like to thank the teams at Essex County Council and Essex Highways for their help in bringing this to fruition and we look forward to working with them both again in the near future.”

Park Avenue Residents’ feedback has been initially positive.

Dan, a resident of Park Avenue, said: “We have one of the best-looking roads on Canvey now and all our houses are much better protected than before the scheme was in place.  The recent heavy rain was a good test and on the whole, the rain gardens seem to have worked well.”

Verges in Park Avenue, Canvey, have been turned in rain gardens housing drainage material, plants and soil which will retain water and allow it slowly to soak away. This holds surface water away from the road and people’s homes.
An aerial view of the rain gardens project in Park Avenue, Canvey