Greyfriars Avenue residents prepared as river Wye rises

Greyfriars Avenue has regularly ended up underwater whenever the city is hit by bad floods, with the last occurring in January this year.

On that occasion, the Wye rose past the previously predicted peak of 5.2 metres.

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Water rose to the to the car park at the top of the street, and houses became flooded. 

The street also fell victim to flooding in February 2020 in the wake of Storm Dennis, when the level reached 6.11m.

A flood alert is currently in place for the Wye with it expected to peak tomorrow (Thursday) morning.

However, thankfully levels are not expected to go above 5.2m. 

Greyfriars Avenue has constantly bared the brunt of flooding

"It might get in the fields and most gardens but not in the houses," said Colin Taylor, a Greyfriars Avenue flood warden.

"We've got a flood plan in place and the lower end of the avenue are prepared. 

"They've got floodgates on and pumps in place. There's no evacuation of vehicles, so we're not panicking."

One resident who is exasperated by his house repeatedly being flooded in Greyfriars Avenue is Graham Bell.

Mr Bell, who lives beside Hereford Rowing Club and its adjoining campsite, has submitted a planning application for a new flood-proof home that would be raised on columns, with the ground floor used only for car and cycle parking.

The nearby Fryers Gate apartment block, between the rowing club and the city’s main Greyfriars bridge and completed in 2017, is already raised on concrete columns to avert flood damage, the application points out.