The newly refurbished Foss Barrier, and completed flood defence work in the city, are being officially opened at an event in York.

The £38 million Environment Agency project to improve the barrier, combined with completed flood defence work in York, better protects 2,000 properties and makes the city more resilient to the impacts of climate change.

Following the devastating floods of Boxing Day 2015 when 627 properties flooded in York, the Government provided £45 million funding toward flood defence work in the city in addition to £38 million to upgrade the Foss Barrier to provide better flood protection to properties along the Rivers Ouse and Foss.

Improvement work at the pumping station started in spring 2016, and now that it is complete means the Foss Barrier is now one of the most resilient flood defences in the country.

The project milestone is being marked at an event by the chair of the Environment Agency, Emma Howard Boyd.

Emma Howard Boyd, Chair of the Environment Agency, said:

York is a historic city which is no stranger to the effects of flooding. The upgraded Foss Barrier and flood defence work across the city will make people and businesses more resilient to future climate impacts. York has always managed to prosper through floods from its great rivers and as climate change makes the rest of the world more vulnerable to flooding York’s progress is a model.

The Environment Agency’s work here continues and with further investments we are upgrading and creating new flood storage areas as well as installing bespoke property level protection to homes and businesses across the city. We are also working with partners upstream to find storage capacity and natural flood management opportunities in the Swale, Ure, Nidd and Ouse catchments.

Floods Minister Rebecca Pow said:

The completion of upgrades to the Foss Barrier is an important day for the people of York. It’s part of more than £80 million of government funding for flood defences in the city since the devastating floods on Boxing Day 2015, helping to protect 2,000 homes and businesses from the impacts of climate change.

This is part of significant ongoing investment in flood schemes across Yorkshire and the Humber, with over half a billion pounds invested across the region since 2015 – more than any other part of the country.

The Foss Barrier protects properties by stopping flood water from the River Ouse backing up along the River Foss after heavy rainfall and was originally built in 1987.

The barrier continually protected the city during the floods of 1995, 2000, 2007 and 2012, but following the floods in December 2015 work started to improve it to help adapt to the impacts of climate change.

The upgrade included replacing the old gate and its structure, improvements to the mechanical and electrical equipment needed to control the barrier and installing eight new high-powered pumps, increasing the pumping capacity from 30 to 50 cubic metres per second. The Boxing Day 2015 floods saw 40 cubic metres of water a second travelling down the Foss.

The work has also included an upgrade to the pumping station’s electricity supply and new back-up generators meaning they can operate during a power failure.

There are 18 areas of work across the city where flood defences are being constructed, including installing property level flood protection such as flood doors, temporary barriers, pumps and valves, which reduce the chance of flood water getting into a property.

The upgrade of the Foss Barrier, completion of new flood defences around Memorial Gardens and North St, Lower Bootham, Marygate, the village of Bishopthorpe, and the roll out of flood resilience products means that over 2,000 properties are now better protected against the risk of flooding. Many more are to be protected through the year with the completion of flood defence work near Clementhorpe.

With the majority of inner-city work near completion, attention will focus on major construction work on flood schemes at Clifton and Rawcliffe and the Foss flood storage area which will hold up to a million cubic metres of water during severe weather and protect a further 630 properties.

For more information on the York Flood Alleviation Scheme and Foss Barrier: York Flood Alleviation Scheme (FAS) Information page

The guest of honour representing the Malaysian Government was Yang Berhormat Tengku Zafrul bin Tengku Abdul Aziz, the Minister of Finance.

The event kicked off with the minister leading a toast to the good health and wellbeing of Her Majesty The Queen. Hay then reciprocated with a toast to DYMM Seri Paduka Baginda Yang Di-Pertuan Agong.

In his speech, Hay paid tribute to The Queen and her dedication to serving the people of the UK and the Commonwealth. He said,

The most important facet of Her Majesty’s reign is her sense of duty and tireless devotion to a life of service.

Through the seven decades of her reign, The Queen has been an important source of stability and strength for the UK. She has transcended politics, change of government, wars, and pandemic.

Hay also spoke about the close relationship between Her Majesty’s Government with the Malaysian Government. He said:

The UK and Malaysia have a deep shared history, which today has flourished into a modern day partnership where both countries are working collaboratively across areas of mutual interest.

According to Hay, the UK has contributed a total of £15 million in the last three years alone to implement economic partnership programmes with Malaysia. Bilateral trade between the UK and Malaysia totalled over £5 billion with the UK seeking to grow priority sectors like education, technology, smart cities and healthcare.
In his speech, Hay also used the Malay proverb “Berat sama dipikul, ringan sama dijinjing” and voiced support to Ukrainian Ambassador Olexander Nechytaylo and the Ukrainian people at a time when Ukraine is defending against Russia’s aggression.

The reception was attended by over 800 guests including members of the Malaysian royalty; senior representatives from ministries, youth and non-government organisations, diplomatic corps and business community. Her Majesty the Raja Permaisuri Agong also graced the event. The Yang di-Pertuan Agong and the Raja Permaisuri Agong met The Queen at Buckingham Palace during a special visit to the UK in 2019.

Guests who attended the reception were treated to a showcase of British culture and pageantry, the best of British food, performances by the Great British Circus, as well as a selection of hit songs in the UK spanning 70 years of The Queen’s reign. Also on display were portraits of The Queen by Malaysian pencil artiste Hakim Abdullah and digital artwork by British artist Rachel Gray.

Hay expressed gratitude to numerous sponsors, especially Sime Darby Properties, YTL Corporation, Eco World, HSBC, AirAsia, JW Marriott, as well as a host of other partners who supported the event.