A REPORT into the "catastrophic" flooding of Beales Corner after temporary barriers were breached earlier this year reveals a "sliding failure" occurred.

The Environment Agency has now published their Post Incident Review after homes and businesses in Bewdley were washed out in January 2021.

The organisation has said the structure of the barrier performed as designed, but the sliding forces at the bottom became too great, causing the barrier to move.

The review has brought forward recommendations including the resurfacing of road for the deployment of temporary barriers, which is set to be carried out by Worcestershire County Council next month.

The report says: "Since the trial began in Beales Corner in 2006, the temporary barrier system is believed to have been deployed approximately 25 times and the EA’s understanding of the resilience of the system has evolved over that period."

"While the Environment Agency and partners will always endeavour to identify new approaches to reduce flood risk, there will always remain a residual risk. We therefore ask communities to be prepared and to consider what they too can do to ensure that their home and their community is climate resilient."

The report follows the announcement of a £6.2million investment into new permanent flood barriers for Beales Corner - slated for completion towards the end of 2023.

The Environment Agency has said that they are currently looking at options consisting of flood walls, glass panels and demountable barriers.

The organisation has said they are now in the process of designing the defences and will seek planning permission later this year.

They hope to start construction on the new barriers in summer 2022.

Founder of the Bewdley Flood Defence Committee Lindsay Wilson, who owns a property on Beales Corner, said: “I’m just hoping we don’t get two floods within the same year again. That was heartbreaking.

“These things take time and when we were told about the timescale we knew there would be flooding again.

“We just have to get on with it and put in as many resilience measures as possible.

“It’s better when we know there’s going to be an outcome.”