A flood defence scheme in Southwell has been paused due to the potential impact revisions to the design may have on a significant archaeological monument.
The Potwell Dyke scheme features a reinforced earth bund designed to hold back water during times of exceptionally high rainfall and was approved by Nottinghamshire County Council’s Planning and Rights of Way Committee in January 2025.
The decision to pause the scheme has been made after it was found that the proposed bund must increase in both height and length by 60 metres to be fully effective.
A scheduled ancient monument of significance in Nottinghamshire could be impacted if the bund was to increase in size, and so the county council will now seek further advice from Historic England to understand whether the revised design is likely to gain a new planning consent.
Other impacts of the new design would include the closure of a popular local footpath.
The Potwell Dyke scheme is one of a number of flooding measures which make up the Southwell Flood Alleviation Scheme and the county council will continue to work closely with local partners to explore alternatives to the scheme if it cannot go ahead in the revised form.
If you have a question about the scheme, please email: flood.team@nottscc.gov.uk
We will collate any queries that we receive and use these to draft some frequently asked questions, which will be published on our website in the coming weeks. We will provide a further update in a future edition of the Bramley once these have been published. If your enquiry is specific to your property, we will respond directly to you.
Nottinghamshire County Council
