A NORTHWICH businessman who is one of Northwich's flood defence scheme's nearest neighbours said it is a bad design.

Clive Steggel, who runs CRS Consultants, in Dane Street, is concerned about the impact of the defences along the riverside between Dane Bridge and Town Bridge.

This part of the scheme features a wall along the bank around CRS Consultants car park and the buildings off the Bull Ring.

"The flood defence plan wants to put a solid wall from the Dane Bridge all the way around to Town Bridge, 8ft in height above the car park," Clive said.

"The top 3ft in some places would be glazed but there would be a loss of usefulness of the riverbank and access to the river.

"I have allowed the use of the riverbank for the past 30 years and was encouraged by Vale Royal Borough Council and Northwich Town Council to do so.

"It has been used for fishing, launching of small craft, just watching and even feeding the wildlife, narrowboats have been moored there – all social activities and not interfering with the use of my car park.

"All this will be lost, fact.

"What good is a flood defence scheme that permanently destroys how the rivers are currently being used and appreciated in their current form?

"Bad design – but this could be that the Environment Agency are selective in where they are spending their money and are going for the cheapest option in that area – no demountables for river access are being considered as they wish to spend their money elsewhere."

Clive's comments came after the Environment Agency's estimated £4.5 million plans to defend Northwich from flood were given the go-ahead by Cheshire West and Chester Council's strategic planning committee.

He remembers a flood in 2000 which left his car park and neighbouring buildings submerged in 3ft of water and remembers floods in 1977 when his office was based in London Road, now Whitby's Granite Products, when the flood stopped just 20ft from his door.

He had his current premises, the Parrs Bank Buildings, lifted more than 4ft in 1984 when he had them refurbished.

Clive suggested better control of the flow as an alternative.

"I have seen the water level at the meeting of the Dane and the Weaver go down by a foot in under an hour when the River Dane is in full fast flow," he said.

"This means that manual intervention occurred – holding back the Weaver at Hunts Lock etc and opening the various systems further downstream."

Now that planning permission has been granted for the scheme, work is set to start by the end of March 2015.