Memorandum submitted by English Heritage
(FL 117)
THE IMPACT OF THE SUMMER 2007 FLOODING AND
ADVERSE WEATHER ON THE HISTORIC ENVIRONMENT
INTRODUCTION
This paper has been put together with information
supplied by English Heritage, the National Trust and managers
of some World Heritage Sites. It is obviously not a full picture
but is intended to give a snapshot of the likely total impact
of the recent flooding on the historic environment.
NUMBERS OF
PROPERTIES AFFECTED
At the time of the crisis, the Secretary of
State for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, Hilary Benn,
estimated that 15,000 homes could be flooded. It seems likely
from the partial information set out below that the number of
listed buildings affected runs into the hundreds. There were probably
well over a thousand unlisted historic buildings in conservation
areas affected in some way. We understand that the Environment
Agency is mapping the areas that were affected by flooding on
their GIS. When we have this information we can identify how many
listed buildings, scheduled monuments and other nationally designated
assets were within the flood area.
COSTS
Total UK costs from the recent floods and adverse
weather are estimated by insurance industry at between £2
billion and £3 billion. The upper estimate is from Fitch
Ratings and includes motor-related claims. Within this overall
cost, the Chartered Institute of Loss Adjusters put the costs
of the Yorkshire floods at £1.5 billion, made up of £0.8
billion domestic and £0.7 commercial claims. In a normal
year total weather-related claims in the UK are between £0.5
billion to £1 billion.
Estimating costs for historic buildings and
sites is very complex. Although it is sometimes asserted that
refurbishment of historic properties is more expensive than general
refurbishment costs, the fact that the repairs may be less extensive
than a non-conservation repair, that the works will generally
be carried out with a higher level of workmanship and will use
more durable materials may result in higher costs for the initial
outlay which are off-set by the longer life of such work compared
to modern techniques. In most cases it can be assumed that Loss
Adjusters take into account listed or conservation area status
in estimating repair costs and therefore most historic environment
costs are likely to be included within the overall estimate made
by the industry.
There will be uninsured costs over and above
those covered by insurance, for example damage to scheduled monuments
through erosion from watercourses, to drainage systems and to
historic parks and gardens. The damage on some of these, particularly
those not open to the public as visitor attractions might not
become apparent for some time.
There may also be costs associated with decontamination.
Drying-out times for historic fabric are likely to be longer than
for modern buildings to avoid damage to fabric.
REGIONAL INFORMATION
North West
Damage to the English Heritage sites at Birdoswald
Roman Fort, (an English Heritage property) part of the Hadrian's
Wall World Heritage Site and Brough Castle (an English Heritage
property) in Cumbria.
No reports of damage caused by the recent floods
but Carlisle City Council may have figures for costs following
the January 2005 floods.
North East
Brinkburn Priory (an English Heritage property)
suffered minor damage in the adverse weather conditions with limited
repairs needed.
Yorkshire
Visitor attractions:
At Fountains Abbey World Heritage Site, Ripon
(owned and managed by the National Trust) there was direct damage
from floodwater of historic fabric; may also include undercutting
of heritage river defences (yet to be assessed). There was damage
to buildings and structures damage and reinstatement and the balance
relates to loss of commercial fixtures and fittings plus loss
of revenue (that revenue ultimately being used to pay for conservation
work) Substantial work may be needed in the longer term for works
that will reduce the risk from future flooding.
St Peter's Church, Barton-upon-Humber (an English
Heritage property) there was floor subsidence due to compaction
of fill material by being waterlogged.
At Mount Grace Priory, nr. Northallerton (an
English Heritage property) there was damage from floodwater of
historic fabric.
Other Historic Buildings and Sites:
The DCMS representative at GOYH is co-ordinating
information-gathering at a regional level. English Heritage did
a quick ring round of most of the affected Local Authorities and
of those spoken to, found that Sheffield City Council was the
only Authority to have done any kind of assessment. They identified
46 listed buildings (4 Grade II*, 42 Grade II) affected by the
floods. At least 32 of these appear to have sustained damage and
one of these (a milepost) is missing. 7 of the 8 listed bridges
have sustained damage, two potentially serious. Two listed churches
are likely to have suffered from internal damage. A complex of
Grade II* former industrial buildings, relatively recently converted
to residential use, sustained some damage along with flooding
of some apartments. English Heritage is not aware of any cost
estimates for the damage to the historic structures. Some are
likely to have been insured, but others (bridges, milepost, weirs
and viaducts) were probably not insured.
In Rotherham, the Chantry Bridge and Chapel
were affected. The arch of the new chantry bridge attached to
the Scheduled Ancient Monument disappeared under the water. It
is likely that the cellar of the Chapel was flooded but it has
not been possible to assess the damage yet.
More than 10,000 homes were evacuated in Hull
and Doncaster was also badly affected. Other Local Authorities
have said they are aware of flooding of a number of listed properties
in villages and have had a number of enquiries from owners of
listed houses and from insurance companies about repairs to plaster
work and drying out etc.
West Midlands
Historic Buildings, sites and areas
The main settlements affected in the West Midlands
region were Upton on Severn and Tenbury (Malvern Hills) and Evesham
(Wychavon) are still taking stock. Many listed buildings have
been affected in all three towns although the insurance/lack of
insurance position is still unclear. Worcester and Bewdley were
also partly flooded. Several older road bridges have been damaged
or destroyed across Worcestershire and Warwickshire according
to TV news but so far English Heritage has had no contact with
the County Council and how many are listed is not known.
At Ironbridge Gorge World Heritage Site in Shropshire,
costs still being collated but there was some impact at the museums.
60 houses, most of which are listed, in the gorge flooded twice.
The biggest impact was on Coalbrookdale where residents were evacuated.
The estimated insurance costs of the flood are £10 million
for loss/damage to contents, £53 million for building and
structure damage and £350,000 for loss of stock. To date
the clean-up costs have totalled £24,000.
Only four churches are reported to have been
flooded in Worcester diocese: two in the Broadway area were not
seriously damaged because flood waters rushed through en route
to somewhere else. The third, Severn Stoke, regularly floods and
was awaiting an Environment Agency flood defence scheme. The fourth
is not known to English Heritage at present.
East Midlands
In the Derwent Valley Mills World Heritage Site,
Derbyshire, the North Mill at Belper appears to have been the
only significant structure to have been flooded, with almost 2
metres of water in the basement. Other structures which may have
been affected, although English Heritage has not received any
reports, are the weirs on the River Derwent.
The only other reported incident is the need
to replace lights in the undercroft at Lincoln Medieval Bishops'
Palace as they had became waterlogged from heavy rain.
East of England
There are no known costs relating to flood or
severe weather damage related to this recent event.
South East
Blenheim Palace World Heritage Site in Oxfordshire,
has suffered a certain amount of damage, primarily to a number
of large section of the listed Park wall but also to the visitor
business as a result of flooding in the Pleasure Gardens, necessitating
the temporary closure of part of that area. There was some flooding
in basements. There was a significant loss of business to the
estate and repairs to damaged fencing and gates on the estate
not covered by insurance have had to be undertaken. Some estate
properties outside the World Heritage Site were affected.
Around 1,500 properties were flooded in West
Oxfordshire including buildings in Oxford (250+ properties), Pangbourne
(200 properties) and Abingdon. Some of these are likely to have
been listed buildings or in conservation areas.
South West
Visitor Attractions:
English Heritage is currently re-excavating
a tunnel to the centre of Silbury Hill, the Neolithic mound with
a view to comprehensively backfilling it with chalk and thus stabilising
the Hill. Work had to be halted due to collapses within the Hill.
Our conservation engineer believes that conditions, if not caused
by the heavy rains, were significantly exacerbated by the weather.
Work has now recommenced with an adapted method of tunnelling.
The additional work is considered to fall within the category
of "unforeseeable ground conditions" within the contract
and English Heritage is therefore liable for the additional costs.
Given the nature of the monument and fact that the combination
of ground conditions and the weather, it is unlikely that this
would have been insurable.
Hailes Abbey (an English Heritage property)
was particularly badly affected with the site under 9 inches of
water on Monday 23 July, although the museum and shop were not
affected. The overflow car park surface was washed away, areas
of turf were ruined, toilets put out of use and low level masonry
work damaged.
The new visitor centre at Goodrich Castle (an
English Heritage property) flooded in the earlier spell of heavy
rain on 19-20 June.
A number of English Heritage properties were
either forced to close or close early as a result of the severe
weather on 20, 21 and 22 July: Wenlock Priory, Buildwas Abbey,
Kenilworth Castle, Witley Court, Stokesay Castle and Wroxeter.
Kelmscott Manor (run by the Society of Antiquaries)
suffered some damage.
Other Historic Buildings, sites and areas:
The main impact as far as English Heritage's
advice and grants work in the south west is concerned has been
in Tewkesbury and Gloucester. In the former many historic properties
appear to have been flooded but most damage should be covered
by insurance. Tewkesbury Abbey flooded for the first time in living
memory. Tewkesbury is significant because as well as being an
important historic town it has received considerable grant aid
from English Heritage in the past. In Gloucester, the extent of
damage has not yet reached English Heritage but we anticipate
it being less in relation to individual historic buildings.
English Heritage has been dispatching copies
of their publication on dealing with flooding and has offered
technical advice where required. The published advice is available
via the website at http://www.english-heritage.org.uk/server/show/conWebDoc.2854
English Heritage
September 2007
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